Goodbye 2008

New Year's Eve is here and it's goodbye 2008, hello 2009. Went fast I think.

Still at work - somebody has to be here to cover the department. Quiet though. And snowing, again.

So since I will not get on the blog later today - I would like to wish everyone a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
C-YA in the Niner!

The Day After...

Christmas, that is. I am stuck at work, along with the bare minimum to keep our multi-conglomerate running efficiently. Except for a peer of mine (also chained to his office) e-mailing and calling me, it is D-E-A-D.

How was the holiday for you? My wife and I had a lot of joy watching the kids faces light up in the morning. The older guy has kind of figured out the whole Santa Claus thing, but keeps it to himself so the younger guy can live the dream.

Anyway, Guitar Hero was a big splash - though I could do without hearing Slow Ride for a couple of days. And now that the boys are getting older, they have no interest in traditional toys, preferring electronic ones. Like a good coach though, they both got new Easton Baseball Bats (gotta keep the fire burning!).

And what did Big Daddy X (aka SoulSlam) get? My wife outdid herself this year folks. She tracked down four seats in the 4th row on the 1B side for the April 4 exhibition game against the Red Sox. SWEEET!

Only another 3 hours to go before I get along for the weekend.

'Twas the Night...

Well actually the day, but I'm pretty busy later. Got me shopping done - even in the face of another bad weather day, hope everybody likes what I bought 'em. If not, they can brave the return lines in your favorite stores, and get what they really wanted!

So I'm off the blog for the holiday - and I hope you all enjoy a happy and healthy with whoever is near and dear to you and yours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Big Tex

They done it again! The Evil Empire goes out and signs another piece of high-priced beef - namely Mark Texeira - aka Big Tex. Great defensive 1B, great OBP, excellent hitter... and no major achievements (aka Post-Season heroics) to brag about. So ponder this Yankee Fans - the Atlanta Braves have enough moolah for a player of Tex's stature (whether the admit it or not) - yet traded him mid-season to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which is in Orange County on the West Coast of the United States of America (well if your going to have a verbose name, you might as well go big). I'd be wary of that, but that's me. Eight years and $180Mil is a lot of time and money, but the Yankees can ask the City of NY to pony up, maybe.

And Boras (the Slimy) gets to save a little face after the b-slap the Bosox tossed last week.

Anyway, it all reminds me of a gem The Onion out up on line about six years ago. Enjoy the read.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27656

The Home Stretch

For Christmas Shopping (or "Holiday Shopping" if you're PC) - and the great state of North Jersey got a bit of a snowstorm that put SoulSlam behind in the shopping... Sunday night at the mall it will be! Forecast calls for another storm brewing; I will be shopping on the Eve, no doubt!

While we are chatting, let me pontificate on something of interest. XM Satellite Radio has a 24-hour channel dedicated to the mighty Led Zeppelin. Great listen. Check out channel 39 if you are satellite-connected.

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Basketball is in full swing; games for the 4-5 grade boys begin on 1/6. Practice, practice, practice. My son seems to have gained a lot of self-confidence from Baseball and is now putting it to use on the court. My team has a lot of potential - maybe we can do something, but win or lose, it's about fun.

And 28 days (by my count) to indoor winter Baseball training for the travel team. Cannot wait!

Happy Saturday!

The New MLB Network

In case you hadn't heard (or watch hockey exclusively), Major League Baseball is starting a new cable TV network appropriately named the MLB Network.

Original and full-time programming doesn't start until January 1, 2009 - but the channel is up and I HAVE IT.

Cablevision comes through again! Yes. Right now, it's a lot of playoff and season history stuff, but it's 100% BASEBALL, 100% OF THE TIME. Nirvana.

Here's the skinny - Channel 790 on Cablevision HD, channel 400 on IO. SWEEEET!

While I'm posting, here's two more things:

Finished watching the excellent Playing for Peanuts DVD from John J. Fitzgerald. This is the guy who filmed the Irish Baseball Movie. Story of Mr. Wally Backman's managerial stint in an independent minor league coaching the South Georgia Peanuts of Albany, GA. Highly recommended!

And - to anyone out there who may think that stealing packages from houses is a fine way of life; you are scum. If I catch you, it will be time to get medieval. Be warned.

SoulSlam New Look

A little easier on the eyes, don't you think? My new bloggin' look, not SoulSlam his'self. Me, I'm kind of rugged...not quite Ernest Borgnine, but no fancy pants either.

Enjoy.

Anyway, remember this incredible post? Well, Mr. Mickey Rourke's new movie, The Wrestler was released today, and many of the movie review types are:

A. Giving it rave reviews

B. Saying the Mick is an Oscar contender.

Remember, SoulSlam was there when nobody else was. That's called a self-congratulatory pat on the back!