Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #9: New Pornographers - Challengers

Why it's in the top 10: Much like the #10 album, this was highly anticipated, and the show they played in July at Pitchfork prior to it's release only served to whet my appetite. And much like Ted Leo, you know what you're going to get with New Pornographers: Melodic power pop, terrific hooks, a mix of high energy up-tempo tracks and the occasional ballad.

Why it's not rated higher: All the same caveats apply about this being a particularly crowded field and whatnot. When putting this list together, a main criterion was simply how much I listened to the album, which was especially difficult considering most of the albums listed came out in the span of about two months. Sometimes this one had a hard time cracking the rotation, though there were certain songs that got played over and over again (like Myriad Harbor).

While it's an excellent album, it's not the transcendent masterpiece of the type that populate the top of the list. For my taste, it tended to go a little too heavy on the ballads or slower numbers. I count at least five. It was lifted by some excellent Bejar, including Myriad Harbor, which may be one of his best NP tracks to date, and the Spirit of Giving, his NP foray into down-tempo numbers. Quite honestly, they could put out a full Bejar album and I'd be perfectly happy. For my tastes, he's my favorite NP composer, and I think he's at his best when he's writing his NP material (except for maybe Streethawk, which is my favorite Destroyer album).

Ultimately it fits in pretty well with the rest of the New Pornographers oeuvre. 20 years from now, it may be difficult to tell which album a given song comes from. They haven't exactly undergone a Beatles-like transformation over four albums. And there's nothing wrong with that. They keep producing great music, and this album is another in that line. Here's some live stuff: Myriad Harbor, Mutiny I Promised You, and My Rights Vs. Yours from David Letterman:

Top 10 Albums of 2007 - #10 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living with the Living

More than anything, this album suffered from timing, and high expectations. I didn't really start listening to Ted Leo until last summer (2006) at the Pitchfork Festival, but subsequently devoured both Hearts of Oak and Shake the Sheets. This was one of the most anticipated albums of 2007 for me. And while it's still a very good album (mediocre Ted is better than 99% of what's out there now), it didn't quite live up to the expectations I had following the previous two albums. Perhaps I was exiting a Ted phase at the point in time.

Still, all things considered, it really is an excellent album. It's got all of TL/Rx trappings. And infectious brand of indie punk with boundless energy, devastating hooks, and it plays great live. Still, when all was said and done, it just seemed like I didn't listen to it all that much this year. As I re-enter a Ted Phase, that will probably change.

Standout tracks are Sons of Cain, Colleen, The Unwanted Things, and the World Stops Turning.

Here's Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.; Sons of Cain (Live); and Who Do You Love (solo).

Begin the Countdown - Top 10 Albums of the Year

A few caveats. First, some of you may be surprised to learn that I don't get paid to review music. Shocking, I know, but it's the truth. As such, I don't routinely get free music sent to me. Second, partially due to the last point, I can't really review stuff I haven't listened to, so everything on this list consists of CDs I've either bought, or albums downloaded legally. Finally, there's a lot of stuff I've left out, because this has been a banner year for stuff I listen to. A lot of really top notch bands released new albums, which contributed mightily to the record number of shows I saw this year.

I'm going to start this list off with this year's honorable mentions. These albums are just outside the top ten. Some are surprises because I didn't expect to like them this much. Some are surprises because I didn't expect them to fall out of the top ten, but that's how good this year's crop was. So without further adieu (in alphabetical order):

Nicole Atkins and the Sea - Neptune City
Saw her open for the Raveonettes in October, and to be honest, if this had been something I'd heard on the radio, or saw on TV, I would not have picked them out as a band I'd listen to. But the live performance was really terrific. And the whole album is really entertaining. Here's the title track.


BRMC - Baby 81
A bit of a return to their hard rock roots, which is good and bad, considering the last album, the rootsier "Howl" had really grown on me. Anlthough this has some really good stuff on it, it's not my favorite BRMC album, and didn't quite rise into the top 10 this year. Here's Weapon of Choice:


Interpol - Our Love to Admire
Big surprise for me here, as I really like this album a lot, and it's probably number 11, but just wasn't quite good enough to crack the top 10. They put on a really good show, but it was at a really crappy venue, and the sound suffered as a result. Probably slid a bit due to the lyrics. I'm not usually a big lyrics guy, but some of these songs were kind of dopey on the lyrical end, especially Rest My Chemistry, which is essentially about whether Paul Banks can find the strength to screw a groupie. Anyway, here's another with questionable lyrics, No I in Threesome.

Grant Lee Phillips - Strangelet
For me, this album suffered from timing. I got it right around the time I was listening to a bunch of other stuff, and as the year comes to an end, I realize I haven't listened to it as much as I would have expected, but it's his best album since Mobilize. It's the most musically diverse and the most fun to listen to. Here's Raise the Spirit.


Rogue Wave - Asleep at Heaven's Gate
Another one I would have figured would be in the top 10, but was edged out by a crowded field. After a longer than expected hiatus while they waited for drummer Pat Spurgeon to heal from a kidney transplant, Zach Rogue and crew returned with their third album, and much like the first two, it's very good. Put on a very good show as well. Here's Lake Michigan.


The Whigs - Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip
These last two are both albums that came out in 2006, and both from bands that I stupidly skipped seeing, even though I had tickets (they were opening acts), and I hadn't taken the time to listen to their albums enough before the shows. First up is this album from the Whigs, a trio from Athens, GA. I've since grown to really like it, and as the year ends, it's been in regular rotation the last few weeks. None of the Youtube videos are very good, so I'm posting the bad recording of my favorite song off of this album, the title track. They have a new album due out next month. Here's Give 'Em a Big Fat Lip.


Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
Another 2006 album, though they did just re-release their previous two albums, 2003's Lovers Lead the Way, and 2004's The Heat Can Melt Your Brain. Still, this album is their masterpiece so far, and the video below is the best song off that album, and probably one of the three best songs to which I was introduced this year. It's From the Devil Himself.


So that's it for the honorable mentions. Tune in tomorrow for #10.

Some good news for a change

Coming off a weekend where UCLA lost to $UC in football, Texas in football, and in which the Kings blew a two goal lead, and the Lakers and Broncos played like crap, today brought some good news finally.

Building on the momentum of the Illinois to the Rose Bowl announcement, fortune delivered the end of the Karl Dorrell era. I tried to stay on Dorrell's side as long as possible, and going into this season, I had high hopes that he'd be able to stem the tide of negativity and put up a great season, inlcuding a BCS bowl and victory over $UC. And while injuries certainly were a factor, particularly in the Notre Dame game, they certainly weren't against Utah, and that was the game that forever changed my opinion. They came out listless and never seemed liked they cared, and they got hammered by one of college football's bottom feeders. Against Notre Dame, they still could have won the game had they had a halfway competent third string quarterback (oh wait, they did, but they had converted him to receiver, even though he never played at receiver). And despite the struggles of McLeod Bethel-Thompson, that game could have been won if the coaching staff hadn't consistently set him up for failure.

Make no mistake, the problems that beset this year's Bruin football team were almost completely due to poor coaching. I think Karl Dorrell is probably a hell of a guy, but he's not a very good head football coach. At least not yet.

And the good news keeps coming. The Super Furry Animals just announced a North American Tour which will be hitting Chicago in February. This will mark the fifth or sixth time I've seen SFA, one of the best live acts still in business.

Oh, and I got promoted.

UCLA chokes against Texas

Maybe if they showed up to play the first half, they would have won. Horrible defense, even worse shooting, and they still should have won if they'd had a clue what to do in the last minute. Absolutely pathetic performance against a very overrated Texas team, which does nothing but fling the ball at the basket half the time, and tonight they were lucky that a lot of them went in.

Still, this was a #1 ranked team that played like they didn't deserve to be in the top 25, and if they don't come prepared, this is going to happen a lot. Fortunately, I'm confident that Ben Howland will keep them ready. But the fact is, the Pac 10 has already lost the luster that it had pre-season. UCLA and that other team both lose to Big 12 opponents on their home floor. That's pathetic.

Illinois Is Going to the Rose Bowl!!

Well, it's taken a while, but the Illini are headed to Pasadena for a bowl game, and hopefully the game will be more exciting than the last trip the Illini took to Pasadena. I'm talking about the regular season matchup in 2003 that finished with UCLA winning 6-3. Don't let the score fool you, the game was even more boring than it sounds.

I will, naturally, be in town for the game, as I'm usually home at that time anyway. I was planning on heading back to Chicago for New Years this year, but the Illini have thrown a monkey wrench into those plans.

Early pick: I think the Illini will get killed, but that's what I thought about the Ohio State game, too. And U$C has had problems with scrambling quarterbacks. Of course, most of that struggling came against Dennis Dixon, who is a lot better than Juice. But still, it's a reason for some sliver of optimism.

Party at my parents' house!

UCLA slaughtered by U$C

The nice thing about this game being on national television is that the whole country has a chance to see what a shitty coach Karl Dorrel is. Here we are in December and his players can't execute a simple hand off with regularity. And when your defense makes a big stop, and your opponent might have to settle for a field goal, it's not really a good idea to give them another third down, even if they're ten yards further back.

It's a testament to how down U$C is this year that they aren't going to win this game by 50. UCLA has given them opportunity after opportunity, turnover after turnover, bad decision after bad decision, and they're still only up by 17 points.

So long Karl. You really won't be missed. I'm sure Karl is a good guy, but he's simply been in over his head. He is not a good football head coach. Hopefully, the athletic department will make the right decision next time.

Thank goodness it's basketball season.

Quick thoughts on the Illinois-Maryland debacle

• If you had told me that the refs would let them play to the extent they did tonight, I would have guess that Illinois would win by ten. But they were awful. Brutally awful. And most of it happened inside.
• Sean Pruitt was awful. The next pass he makes out of the post will be the first. He goes to the hole and flings the ball at the basket, and the one time he got a chance to dunk, he choked. A guy that shoots from no more than five feet out finished 4-16 from the field. Man, that sucks.
• Brian Randle wasn't much better. 2-8 from the field, and stuffed at least once by a guy he should have owned. And he couldn't get it done from the free throw line either.
• On the defensive end, Maryland killed the Illini in th paint. They walked into the lane over and over again, with almost no resistance. The difference in the paint was roughly 40-15 or so. That's pathetic. The Illini made one two point basket in the last eight minutes, and Pruitt promptly missed the subsequent free throw that would have pulled the Illini to within one.
• Rodney Alexander played pretty well, then inexplicably didn't see the floor for the most important part of the game.
• Calvin Brock started well, hit a jumper at the beginning of the second half. Then disappeared.
  

Really bad performance tonight against a pretty bad Maryland team. They need to be better than that.

Slingbox?

Anyone have one of these things, or know someone who does? I don't always trust Amazon reviews.

I ask because I'm back in Atlanta for the week, and if the travel thing keeps happening, there's a lot of Kings games that I'm going to miss. Most people probably wouldn't think that was a bad thing, but I paid for the damn package so I'd like to watch the damn games. And my understanding is that I can hook this sucker up and watch whatever is on my TV from any computer with a good internet connection. I was initially intrigued, then turned off by the fact that they don't seem to work with Blackberries, which is what they gave me at my newish job. But I'm starting to think it might be a worthwhile investment.

Anyone?

Torii Hunter. Really.

Well, after thinking about it for a while, I'm still not really sure what this means. I simply can't believe that this is the roster the Angels are going to take to April 1st. So really any analysis that contemplates that happening is almost sure worthless, but what the hell, that's what blogs are for, right?

The most obvious picture shows Hunter in center, one of Vlad or GA in the field, and GMJ at the opposite corner, which probably isn't ideal unless either Vlad or GA is made the primary DH while the other is in the field 5 out of 7 games. It also means that Juan Rivera is essentially worthless to this management team, despite being a better hitter than at least two of the guys who will see regular time in the outfield or DH, which tells me they haven't really thought all that much about Rivera.

Logic of course dictates that one of either Saunders, Santana or Weaver will be packaged with one of either Willits or Rivera, and probably at least one of Nick Adenhart or Brandon Wood in a package for a Miguel, but your guess is as good as mine. As I write this, nothing has been finalized, but Tony Reagins appears to like to work quickly. New rumors have the Angels essentially giving up on keeping Howie Kendrick, but I can't do anything but hope they're wrong. I don't know what it is, but I really like Howie Kendrick, and I see him winning multiple batting titles in his career. I'd hate to see the Angels give up that kind of offense, damn the walks, at such a difficult position to fill. I'm sure people think I'm nuts and I'm totally overvaluing Kendrick, but so be it.

Back to the signing, six years is a long time, and much like the Matthews deal, the years concern me much more than the dollars. I like to think I have a theoretical grasp on the economics of the game, but hell if I know how much teams really have to spend. Revenues are supposedly booming right now in baseball, and the Angels are one of the teams driving that, with boatloads of fans showing up at the Big A in addition to a monster television contract signed just a year ago. So the dollars aren't my concern. Hell, it's not my money. And honestly, this team has shown a willingness to accept that some things are sunk costs. If they weren't, they wouldn't have already decided to move Matthews out of center field.

Are the Angels better because of this deal right now? I think so, but not a ton, mostly because this means fewer at bats for Juan Rivera, assuming he's even in Halo red next season. And to the extent it precludes them from making other moves, we'll just have to wait and see. Much like the Matthews signing, it has the feel of a move made for the sake of making a move. But again, in the final analysis, I just can't see them going to Arizona without at least one more major shake up, and if this deal is any indication, there's almost no point in trying to predict what that might be, because these guys are working from their own private playbook.

Torii Hunter? Really?

I don't get this at all. Makes no sense to me unless they've caught Matthews actually injecting HGH and think they can void his deal. I'll try to write more tonight, but right now, I'm perplexed.

College Basketball - Quick Thought

UCLA vs. Michigan State

If they can beat the nation's 11th ranked team without 3 of their top 10, 2 of their top six, and their best player, then UCLA is going to be pretty good. They showed a ton of heart tonight, overcoming an awful start to fight back into the game, take the lead for the first time late in the game, and hold on for the win. I haven't seen the stats yet, but I think Westbrook went the full 40. And Kevin Love probably won't see a more physical team this year.

Great efforts by Al Aboya and LRMAM. Aboya had the steal that led to the tying dunk, and LRMAM scored the last two field goals for the difference. Ben Howland showed that while he won't rush his injured players back to soon, he still thinks these games are important enough to shorten his bench in order to win.

Listening to Schulman and Vitale, you would think that Drew Neitzel was some superhuman point guard who boldly overcame a tummy ache. Fact is I've seen him play in the Big Ten for four years now. He's decent, but a healthy Collison would have wiped the floor with him, and full Bruins squad wins by 12 points.

Illinois vs. Duke +3

Sometime about seven years ago, when Michigan State was getting a reputation for bruising physical play, Illinois got the reputation as the team that does nothing but fouls. And when you play Dook, you already start down three players, because they are going to get all the calls. They have the asshole who spends the whole game doing nothing but screaming at the ref who happens to be in front of him. Kzyzksfslasfhski is a cocksucker, but he knows how to work the refs. Illinois was in the game until every breath was a touch foul.

As it was, I thought the Illini looked good last night against a mediocre to poor Arizona State team. Randle showed his athleticism, and Rodney Alexander could be a revelation. If Chet Frazier can shoot (so far, so good), and if Brian Randle and Sean Pruitt can stay on the floor, the Illini can be in the top five in the Big Ten and back in the tournament. I also see Billy Cole and Mike Tisdale making contributions this year. They won't be great, but they won't be awful, and they may even be better than last year.

Angels trad O-Cab for Jon Garland

If you haven't heard this by now, then you're probably here looking for Sharin Foo pictures. I don't blame you.

Can't say as I saw this one coming, but the initial reaction is that the Angels aren't done. I can't believe they would have made this deal without something bigger on the horizon. Certainly the speculation will be around Miguel Cabrera, but that doesn't make sense to me, as it still leaves the Angels without a shortstop*, and without a day-in day-out position for Chone Figgins, which one would figure would be either 3rd base, 2nd base, or center field. 2nd base only opens up if they trade Howie for Miguel Cabrera, which still leaves them without a shortstop*. Center field only opens up if they find someone dumb enough to take Gary Matthews Jr., and seeing how Allard Baird and David Littlefield don't have that power anymore, it's a long shot.

All of which means the deal that's more likely to be on the table is something, primarily pitching, for Miguel Tejada. It's going to take Santana and either a top prospect (Wood) or maybe a couple of mid-level prospects (Rodriguez and Conger?). Perhaps Santana and Adenhart, since Nick grew up a lot closer to Ballmer than Anaheim.

In return, the Angels get Jon Garland, who was rumored to be on the way to the Angels six years ago, not long before Darin Erstad helped lead the Angels to a World Championship (at least with his playoff performance). Now they get a better than league average innings eater who will be just 28 this year, the final year of his contract. Obviously this leaves the Angels with six starters if you assume Ervin was heading back to the rotation next season, which will lead to the invevitable speculation that he (or Saunders, or even possibly Weaver) is headed somewhere else. If I had to bet, I'd put money on Miguel Tejada over Miguel Cabrera. He fills (in theory) the hole at short, and brings a pretty big bat along with him.

*I use the asterisk to note that I don't really think the Angels need a shortstop right now. I think they're better right now than they were yesterday. The rotation is deeper, and I think Maicer Izturis could, health permitting, play 145 games at shortstop, provide adequate defense, and hit better than Cabrera did last season. Plus, he's only 27, so his best years are arguably ahead of him. I like this deal for that reason alone. I'll miss OC. He was a good Angel, and very likable guy, but I can't see him putting up another season like he had last year. I'll root for him in Chicago, but I'm not heartbroken over this deal.

Bonds indicted

And let me check.....just one second....... Nope. Still don't care if anyone or everyone who ever played professional sports is a juicer. Next manufactured controversy, please.

Panthers 2; Thrasher 3 - OT

Went down to Phillips Arena tonight to take in the last two period of the Thrashers-Panthers game. OK arena. We had club seats, so we were in the last row of the first section, near center ice. Pretty good seats, and the concourse in our area was really snazzy, but that's what you can get for $20 when buy tickets after the first period is over. Up higher, though, might have sucked. From the looks of it, one entire side of the arena is made up of luxury boxes, which were right above it. I mean, a whole side of the arena is reserved for the very rich. Kind of overkill, really.

As for the game, it was OK. Tough to get into it when you don't care for either team. But it had a great finish. Marian Hossa scored with 2.6 seconds left to tie the game, and Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been on fire lately, scored the game winner in OT. So the end was really exciting, and Hossa and Kovalchuk are worth the price of admission.

Plenty of former Kings in action, as Josef Stumpel and Olli Jokinen lined up against Alex Zhitnik. Always cool to see a new arena, even if it half full (kind of like a Hawks game).

Do You Believe in Unlikelihoods?!

You make the call. What's more unlikely:

1. Illinois goes into Columbus and beats the number 1 Ohio State Buckeyes;
2. Juice Williams throws for four touchdowns; or
3. the Kings, trailing 4-0, get five goals against Dallas in the final seven minutes and win 6-5 in overtime?

Welcome home, pal.

UCLA vs. Portland State - Liveblog

This should be fun, as I figure to get drunker and drunker as the game goes on. Free internet broadcast courtesy of CSTV. We finally get to see Kevin Love in a Bruins uni.

• Interesting thing about these broadcasts. They overlay the radio feed with the camera feed from the guys filming the game for scouting purposes. So during commercials, they apparently show what the Pauley scoreboard shows. I was just encouraged to get on my feet and make noise. I can get kind of loud, but not Krakatoa loud.
• 5th starter tonight is Al Aboya.
• And Love opens with a defensive board and an outlet pass that leads to a break and two points.
• Love seal and dunk. He's good. And an easy dunk on the inbounds. Wow.
  
• I may be in the minority, but I like the C. You did something good. Flaunt it. And the obvious upshot is that it's going to get mentioned in every game on TV. People are going to ask about it. And game after game, all year, people are going to hear that UCLA was the first school to 100 national championships.
• Under 16 TO: First impressions? Pretty solid quality on this video. Thanks, CSTV.
• PSU takes a time out because of dunk we never saw. Here's the problem with this set-up. Love hits a shot inside, and while they're showing replay, he gets a rebound on the other end that leads to a dunk that we don't see. Now the game is back on, but it beat the radio feed. Weird. Niiiiiiiiiiiikolaaaaaaaa into the game.
• Again, we miss game action for a replay, but that seems to be the way this is going to go.
• The defense has been awesome, with the typical doubling and flashing UCLA defense that leads to a lot of steals. They look like they could win this game by 100 points if the try.
• Hey, remember when Lavin was coaching, and you never sure if they'd actually win games like this?
• 36-17 at the end of the first half. They slowed down a bit. Whether that's because they naturally slowed down, or they took their foot off the gas, but the first ten minutes were very impressive. Impressions:
• Kevin Love is very good. He's not an overpowering Shaq-type force, but he has a great feel for how to put the ball in the basket, and his passing is as advertised. He can yank down a few boards, too.
• The defense looks like they're ready to pick up where they left off. Double teams, steals, etc.
  
• Dragovic picked up some nice minutes, as did Stanback. Both look like they can contribute 8th and 9th man minutes. When Collison, Keefe, and Roll return, this team can go 11 deep.
  
• LRMAM looks like he needs to find a role. Maybe he'll better with Collison, but right now, with Shipp and Love picking up scoring slack, he looks a little lost on the offensive end.
• Josh Shipp can shoot. He's turning into the scorer that his brother was.
  
• Westbrook can be electric, but he's got a lot of learning to do. Fortunately, he gets to learn against the best point guard in college basketball. Much like every day practice against Farmar made Collison a terrific player, Collison's tutelage will help Westbrook improve. And just imagine the guard battles in practice next year with Westbrook, Holliday, Lee, and Anderson.
• It's really weird watching these games with a clock and scoreboard on the screen.
• Love just grabbed a board and made a two foot pass to Shipp. Tells me that he's not going to fire outlets to nowhere when the opportunities aren't there. He's got 18 and 11. First in a long line of double doubles.
• I love Lo Mata-Real, but it's going to be really nice to have a center that you can play on both the offensive and defensive end late in games. Love can make free throws.
• I can't stop thinking about depth. Their second team (RW, Roll, Chace, Aboya, Lo) would be a heck of a starting five in most conferences. And that doesn't even factor in Keefe or Dragovic. Good God, this can be a freaking 12 man rotation!!
• An addendum to the last bullet, the top ranked recruit from the Roll, Collison, LRMAM, Aboya class isn't even with the team anymore. Ryan Wright was the "stud" from that class.
• Westbrook's offense isn't quite as "instant" when he starts. But when DC gets back, he's going to be a super-sub who can fill in a for a few games at a time. This experience is invaluable.
• Game over. UCLA wins handily. It's not a 50 point win like Duke put up, but then again, Howland doesn't leave his starters in up by 40 with 30 seconds to play.
  

So that's that. 69-48. K-Love was pretty solid. 22 points, 13 boards. The last Bruins with similar debut numbers was T.J. Cummings. The difference between Love and Cummings is that Kevin's not afraid to get paint on his shoes. I've never seen a player with T.J.'s size who was so reluctant to go anywhere near the basket.

Win. Experience. On to bigger things.

All Kinds of Stuff

Just to catch up, I thought I'd throw a bunch of different subjects into one post. I gotta admit, the fact that I'm on some blogrolls kind of increases the pressure to catch up once in a while, and I've been slacking, so I'll do this in the order of importance.

UCLA Football

Honestly, it's gotten so bad lately that I've started to head toward the worst possible dimension of fandom: Apathy. Any other season and I would have been at a bar watching Saturday's game. But this week I had a played in a golf tournament on Saturday morning, checked the score on the way home, commiserated with my dad, and really had no interest in keeping track of the finish.

This is a team with 20 returning starters, all recruited by Dorrell, and they are going to fail to get to a bowl game. Think about that for a minute. A team that started the year ranked 11th, with 20 starters back, and they aren't even going to get to a bowl game. And they haven't even played the tough part of their schedule yet. They've played one good team (and beat them). They've lost to Utah, Arizona, Washington State, and the coup de grace, arguably the worst Notre Dame team in history. I'm not quite sure what it takes for the Athletic Department to realize that a new direction is needed, but it seems like Dorrell's record should speak for itself.

I really can't see them winning any of their last three games. Maybe ASU if they get lucky, but that's a stretch. The only real drama remaining is when Dan Guerrero is going to announce Dorrell's dismissal, and who will be tabbed to replace him. Brace yourself for disappointment on that second front. The financial realities at a public university in California dictate that UCLA won't be able to spend top dollar. I'm not quite sure what that leaves. Perhaps an up and comer with whom they can catch lightning in a bottle. But personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Norm Chow take over.

UCLA Basketball

It's early, and some guys are nursing injuries, but hey, they look like they're going to be pretty good, huh? Honestly, I don't have much to say on them at this point, since every bit of information I get is second hand. I'll have more to say once they start to show up on my TEEVEE.

That said, I'm not particularly concerned about the early injuries, especially the injury to Collison. UCLA is back to a position where March is what matters, and while I don't want anyone to get hurt, the worst part about a Collison injury is less wear and tear on Darren, and more experience for Russell Westbrook. That seems to me like a pretty good silver lining. They're as deep this year as they've ever been. Mike Roll's injury will provide more experience for Nikola Dragovic, and that depth is going to be paramount throughout a tough conference season. Any team that can only roll six or seven guys during conference season this year is going to be in big trouble in the Tournament. There will be very little left in their tank.

Illinois Basketball

I have even less to say about the Illini hoops team than I did about UCLA. We're going to be OK, not great, and probably a bubble team at best. But Bruce Weber always gets everything out of his talent, and because of that, I'd say they're also a bubble team at worst. They'll be competitive every night. A lot of new faces will be getting minutes. How many of those minutes I'll see is open question, since Comcast and the Big Ten Network are still duking it out.

Kings Hockey

These guys are fun to watch. They're young, skilled, and over the last few weeks, they've really been competitive. Hopefully they're getting a little confidence that can carry them through to at least a position to contend for a playoff spot. The new faces, save for Brad Stuart (who has kind of sucked so far) seem to be melding nicely, and Mike Cammalleri has been awesome so far. But no one comes here to read about the Kings.

Angels

To A-Rod, or not to A-Rod? I guess it all depends on what he's asking for and if there's any team out there who is likely to give it to him. There's not much question that he would fill a need which may or not be filled by a healthy Dallas McPherson. Obviously the levels of production are hugely disparate, but so are the salaries involved. It's not my money, so I guess Arte can spend it or not spend it however he wants. I'm not going to be heartbroken if the Angels don't reel him in.

Last Coming Attractions For A While

Going to see the Broken West with a couple of other bands tonight at Schuba's. I think they're up second, and I'll probably just take off after their set. They will become the first band I've ever seen four times in the same year.

So It Goes (Live)


So It Goes (Acoustic)

Now that I think about it

Maybe the offense doesn't work better with Pat Cowan. They're about to accomplish nothing against arguably the worst team in the Pac 10.

UCLA flat out sucks. They have no heart, they have very little talent, and they have no idea how to use what little talent they have. They are being outplayed in every single facet of the game. Pat Cowan has just thrown his 14th incomplete pass in his last 20 attempts.

Firing Karl Dorrell won't be a sure fire cure, but damn it it won't be a step in the right direction.

Only one word describes this team: Pathetic. Everyone associated with UCLA football ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Looks like the Thinker will have to fire a few more coordinators, because that's been really successful over the last few years. All the best teams have new offensive defensive coordinators every year.

Rogue Wave: A Quick Recap

• Port O'Brien opened, and they were perhaps the most polite band I've ever seen. And their music was decent too.
• Third time I've seen Rogue Wave. The first was when they opened for AC Newman at the since closed Bottom Lounge. Saw them again a couple years ago at the Troubador, and they were really solid live. Last night was no different. For a band that took a lot of time off, they haven't lost their stage chops.
  
• It didn't dawn on me until late in the show when Zach Rogue introduced the rest of the band, but Patrick Abernathy, who played bass, used to play with Beulah as well. I thought he looked familiar. We had a nice little chat about it after the show.
• I'm not really one for yelling out song requests, but last night I was about 9 inches from the stage. Zach Rogue, the last two times I've seen him, has started the encore with a solo acoustic number. At the Troubador, it was Man, Revolutionary, and it was great. So I didn't so much yell as say it really softly, but loud enough for Zach to hear, as he was a few feet away. Right after, a guy about 10 feet behind me yelled for the same song. The conversation (my first ever in-show banter) then went like this:
• Me: See, he wants to hear it too.
• Zach (jokingly): I'll screw that one up.
• Me: But you played it so well at the Troubador a couple years ago.
• Zach (laughing): That's probably the last time I played it.
• Decent set. 12 songs, and a four song encore. Except for the encore, this set list is actually complete and in order, a stark contrast to the normal incomplete and out of order set list. Don't get used to it. It's only because I was close enough to grab a copy of the list after the show:
• Like I Needed
• Harmonium
• Every Moment (but in a different time signature, which quite frankly, I didn't care for as much)
• Lullaby
• Sewn Up
• Ghost
• Christians in Black
• Publish My Love
• Nourishment Nation
• Chicago x12
• Bird on a Wire
• Lake Michigan
• Postage Stamp World
• Kicking the Heart Out

They're supposed to be back in the next few months, which would be cool. They really put on a nice show, and it's always money well spent.

UC Berkely 21; UCLA 29

Thought I'd get some thoughts down on this one before I get too drunk to remember what happened:

• UCLA won this game despite both the coaching staff and the officiating. Every decision Karl Dorrell makes is the wrong decision. He's simply in over his head as a game coach. How on earth do you burn a timeout to set up a fourth and one play, then run the crappy "try to draw them off" BS that they ended up running? The man is not a good head coach, and he should have been fired right after that play.
• The officials were awful. First they needed 10 minutes to review a play that never should have been reviewed in the first place. They called UCLA for an offensive pass interference call that even the guys in the truck couldn't find on a replay. They handed Berkeley a touchdown on a play where Desean Jackson never actually caught the ball. And somehow six referees didn't see a trip in full speed that a million viewers did. It was the most obvious trip call I've ever seen. It cost UCLA a first down, possibly a touchdown, and almost the game.
• The run defense was awesome. They dominated Justin Forsett for the majority of the game, and Berkeley really only ran the ball well out of the shutgun. The run defense was one of the major difference makers today.
• There's something about Pat Cowan that just makes the team play better. I can't explain it. Apparently it doesn't come through in practice. It may have nothing to do with his physical ability, but there's something about the way the team plays when he's in the game that works better than when Ben Olson is in the game. I really like Ben Olson, and I was jazzed when he committed to UCLA, but the team simply moves the ball better with Cowan. And it's probably just coincidence, but the defense seems to have played better when Cowan's been in there as well.
• Berkeley is a very good team, but they run a pro-style offense, which the Bruins can handle. It's the tricky stuff that gets them, and today, the defense won the game. Although the turnover battle was relatively even, Berkeley's were bigger, and obviously the ATV interception return at the end was the difference. The Horton pick was nice, but unnecessary.
  
• I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it seems that one big difference today from what we've seen lately were negative plays, or a lack thereof. Cowan excelled today in two key areas: he didn't turn the ball over with ill-advised throws, or tipped passes that become picks, and at worst, he got the ball back to the line of scrimmage. It's a little thing, often overlooked, but there's a big difference between 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 15, especially with their limitations when it comes to gaining yards in chunks. Cowan gets the ball back the line of scrimmage, and that makes a big difference.
• Like or not, the Bruins are 4-0 in conference, though they close with their three toughest games. I'd love for them to win the Pac 10 and go to the Rose Bowl, but it probably means Dorrell will come back. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, I want him gone, but I can't root for the Bruins to lose. Maybe they'll face the Illini, who will then kill UCLA and get Dorrell fired. That may be the best possible end to the season. I could live with that.
  

The Raveonettes: A Quick Recap

1. First time I've been to the Empty Bottle. Strange little configuration, but really intimate, and the sound was very good. Parking wasn't too bad either, and the beer was relatively cheap.
2. Two opening acts. The first, Gliss, was kind of SoCal psychedelic rock, sort of droning at times. Power trio, in which pretty much all three members played every instrument at one point, though I don't think the girl ever played guitar. They played for about 45-50 minutes, which was about 10-15 minutes too long in my opinion.
   
3. Nicole Atkins & the Sea followed, and she's really hot. She's also got an excellent voice, bordering on classical trying to sing pop, but she makes it work really well. Her set was shorter, and apparently cut off by about 5-10 minutes as the hour was running late. It was almost midnight by the time she finished. I'm definitely going to check out her stuff, though. New album next week, and she'll be on Letterman. Her somewhat Rat-Pack era crooning complemented the Raveonettes' style really well. Also, I didn't take this picture.
   

4. You pretty much know what you're going to get with the Raveonettes. The songs are rarely going to last more than three minutes. You're going to get 50s-60s surf rock/motown style melodies. You're going to get two part harmonies sung by Sune Rose Wagner and the lovely Sharin Foo. And you're going to leave the place absolutely dripping in feedback. It's not a particularly difficult formula. Everything you hear will sound like something you've heard before, perhaps even earlier that night. But there is something to be said for knowing your gameplan and sticking to it. They do what they do incredibly well, and they pack a ton of energy into an hour and twenty minutes.
5. When I first saw them a few years ago, they had a full band. They also demolished my earlier skepticism with an amazing set that's still one of the highlights of all of the live shows I've been to over the last few years. Tonight they had only the two aforementioned members, plus a drummer, whose name I can't locate anywhere, who stood behind only a tom and snare like the drummer in those old Jesus and Mary Chain videos (not sure if that was Bobby Gillespie or not). She also programmed the machine that piped in the bass, as there was no bass player. Economical lineup for a tour undertaken to preview the new material. Hopefully they'll have the full crew again when the support the new album, do sometime in the next couple months.
   
6. The incomplete and out of order setlist is really incomplete and out of order this time, since I don't know much of the new stuff, and I'm writing this the next day. The memories fade. Here it is:
1. Remember
2. That Great Love Sound
3. Noisy Summer (really great live)
4. Let's Rave On
5. Chain Gang of Love
   
6. Attack of the Ghost Riders
7. Do You Believe Her
8. My Tornado (I think)
9. Black Satin
10. Blush
11. Lust
12. Love in a Trashcan
13. Red Tan
14. Here Comes Mary

They played a couple more than that, but I can't remember which ones. Disappointed they didn't play either Twilight or You Say You Lie, which were really off the charts the last time I saw them play. They also didn't play Heartbreak Stroll, which I like a lot.

As it turned out, they went on late enough that I probably could have caught New Pornographers again at the Metro, and made it over to the Empty Bottle in time for the Raveonettes' set and still found a good spot to stand, but such is life, I guess. Also, Nicole Atkins was a bit of a revelation, so that's a silver lining. Looking forward to the new material.

New Pornographers: A Quick Recap

This is for the Thursday, 10/18 show at the Metro. Due to my inability to read a calendar, I also have a ticket for tomorrow night's show (10/19), but I won't be going due to the Raveonettes being in town. Anyway:

• The most awesomest part of the evening was seeing the lineup take the stage. I wasn't even sure if Neko Case would be on the tour. She usually is when they play their main Chicago show, but she's got her own deal, and Kathryn Calder can pick up the slack, as she did at Pitchfork. But Neko played, and that wasn't even the best part. The band was in Full Bejar tonight. Wasn't sure I'd ever see another set with him, but apparently he's on this tour. Dan Bejar is pretty freaking awesome, though I don't think he was too jazzed about the Metro being smoke free.
• Honestly, I've heard them play a little tighter. After the first Bejar song (Myriad Harbor, I think, but that could be wrong), Carl Newman's vocals sounded a little off for some reason, probably mic related. Also, he forgot the words to part of song early in the set. Can't remember which one (it's not like I take notes or anything). Still, they know how to entertain. So even at less than their best, they're still fantastic.
• Speaking of Kathryn Calder, she really provides a nice visual distraction. Not that Neko is anything to sneeze at, but Kathryn Calder is really enjoyable to look at. I was about 10 feet from the stage, more or less in the middle of the room, and by the time NP went on, I had maneuvered into an area where I could see the whole stage, except for maybe Todd Fancey.

• I'm not really one for a lot of audience participation. I like to move around a bit and enjoy the beat, and sometimes I'll sing along quietly to myself, but I don't usually go in for stuff like handclapping and whatnot. But I've go to admit, I clapped along to Spirit of Giving in the "Cloud prayer Mary, come on" part. I just got caught up in the total Bejarness of the evening.
  
• Emma Pollock was really good, and I'll probably be downloading or buying her debut CD at some point. I never really listened to the Delgados, but I like her solo stuff a lot. And she's got a bitchin Scottish accent.
• Here's the incomplete and out of order setlist. They opened with "All things...." and the last three songs in the setlist are in order. That was the encore:
  

1. All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth
2. Mass Romantic
3. Electric Version
4. The Laws Have Changed
5. Testament to Youth in Verse
6. Twin Cinema
7. Use It
8. Bleeding Heart Show
9. Jackie Dressed in Cobras
10. Sing Me Spanish Techno
11. My Rights Vs. Yours
12. All the Old Showstoppers
13. Challengers
14. Myriad Harbor
15. Go Places
16. Adventures in Solitude
17. Spirit of Giving
18. Execution Day
19. From Blown Speakers
20. My Slow Descent into Alcholism

Personal disappointments include failures to play Graceland, Ballad of A Comeback Kid, and everyone always wants to hear Letter From an Occupant. Also, any additional Bejar would have been appreciated. Oh, and Mutiny I Promised You. But it's tough to complain about an hour and half set, and 20 songs. They always give everyone their money's worth.

Spoon: A Quick Recap

1. First time at the Riviera. It's right around the corner from the Aragon, and they're both very convenient for me by train, which is nice. It's kind of like the Vic, only bigger. Not so much side to side, but it extends back farther, and the balcony is larger. But if you get their early enough to see the opening act (I was there about 10 minutes before they started), you can get up pretty close on the main floor.
2. Ponies: They were OK. Better than Liars. Somewhat entertaining, but I was tired, and I just wanted Spoon to start.
3. Spoon, not surprisingly, were very good. They've been at this a while now, and they now how to put on a good show. They played for about an hour and ten minutes, left briefly, and did a three song encore.
4. Interestingly, they played the initial set album to album. Nothing from Telephono, which is kind of a bummer, but they played two from Series of Sneaks, and then proceeded to go through each album playing three to six songs before the set ended. As such, the out of order setlist isn't as out of order as usual.
   
5. Incomplete and out of order setlist:
1. Utilitarian (opened with this)
2. The Minor Toughs
3. Anything You Want
4. Me and The Bean
5. Fitted Shirt
6. Small Stakes
7. Stay Don't Go
8. Someone Something
9. Vittorio E.
10. Johnathan Fisk
11. Beast and Dragon Adored
12. I Summon You
13. I Turn My Camera On
14. Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine
15. Don't Make Me a Target
16. The Ghost of You Lingers
17. Don't You Evah
18. Rhythm and Soul
19. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
20. Black Like Me
    
21. The Underdog
22. Chicago at Night
23. The Way We Get By (closed with this)

I would like to have heard My Mathematical Mind and Finer Feelings. And I'd love to someday hear them do stuff off of Telephono. I have a feeling that people who have discovered Spoon recently would be surprised at what their early stuff sounds like, especially stuff like Not Turning Off, Nefarious, and Government Darling. Would like to have heard Car Radio and The Guestlist/the Execution from Sneaks as well. But there's only so much time.

Interpol: A Quick Recap

1. The Aragon Ballroom sucks. Sure, it's nice looking inside, but the acoustics are downright awful. I knew this, of course, after seeing the Pixies there about three years ago, but we were way in the back, so I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Tonight I was in the center, about 15-20 in front of the mixing board, and about 30 feet from the stage. The sound still sucked.
2. Liars - sorry but I just couldn't get into these guys. I'm willing to forgo structure at times. It can work. For me, it didn't work with these guys.
3. Interpol, sound problems aside, put on an entertaining show. Nice effects on stage. Good timing of the set. They played for an hour, a good mix of all three albums, and did a three song encore. Good stage presence, as one would expect from a band with their experience. Not a ton of rapport with the crowd, which kind of fits their image, and also is more what one would expect in a bigger venue. Remember, I don't go to places this big very often. Capacity is 4,500 people. By contrast, the biggest venue I visit more frequently is the Vic, which holds less than 1/3 the people that the Aragon holds, and even that's a bit large for my tastes.
   
4. Here's the incomplete and out of order setlist:
1. Untitled
2. Obstacle 1
3. PDA (they closed with it)
   
4. Say Hello to the Angels
5. Stella Was a Diver and She's Always Down
6. Evil
7. Narc
8. Take You on a Cruise
9. Slow Hands
10. Not Even Jail
11. C'mere
12. Pioneer to the Falls (opened with this)
    
13. No I in Threesome
14. The Scale
15. The Heinrich Maneuver
16. Mammoth
17. Rest My Chemistry

Ultimately, though, it was worth it. It was the first time I've seen them, so I can't complain. Off to the Riviera tomorrow for Spoon.

More Coming Attractions

Interpol @ The Aragon - October 11th
"Mammoth" from Our Love to Admire


Spoon @ The Riviera - October 12th
"You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga


New Pornographers @ Metro - October 18th
"My Slow Descent Into Alchoholism" from Mass Romantic


The Raveonettes @ the Empty Bottle - October 19th
"That Great Love Sound" from Chain Gang of Love


Rogue Wave @ Double Door - October 24th
"Publish My Love" from Descended Like Vultures

Notes from a lost weekend

I was at home in L.A. over the weekend for the UCLA v. Notre Dame debacle. I don't really want to say very much about anything, but:

• Karl Dorrell may be the dumbest person on the face of the earth. What kind of idiot takes a freshman, walk-on QB and 1) makes him go with an empty backfield on 4th and 1, and 2) makes him throw for a first down on 3rd and 6 from his own five yard line against a team that is pretty pathetic, and could not move the ball on offense? He should have been fired right after that play.
• People can second guess Mike Scioscia all they want, but the only true mistake was not having Jered Weaver plant one in David Ortiz's ear, followed up by a fastball in Manny Ramirez's ear. They both should have gone down, and gone down hard. Until someone pays a heavy price, expect Vlad to keep getting drilled.
  
• I'm not going to dwell too much on the loss. I think the Red Sox are an excellent team, and probably better than the Angels when the Angels are at full strength. When the Angels are less than full strength, the Red Sox are a lot better, and unfortunately, the Angels were less than full strength. That's not an excuse, but it would have been nice to see both teams with their full line ups intact.
• As they currently line up, with no changes, the Angels are still the best team in the West, and outside of someone making a major splash, they will be the odds on favorite to win the West again next year. It will be interesting to see what they do in the off-season. There will be calls to get a big bat, and those people won't be wrong. Still, if they can get a full season out of Juan Rivera (assuming they bring him back), that will be a major upgrade at DH/OF. I expect progressions from Kendrick and Kotchman, regressions from Figgins and Cabrera, and roughly the same from everyone else.
  
• I won't say he's a key for next year, because I think they'll win the division regardless, but next year is probably a make or break year for Ervin Santana. He's got the ability. The question is whether he can put it together. There's nobody waiting to take his place. He's got no excuses.
  
• Thanks to the Kings for providing a crappy ending to a truly shitty day on Saturday.
  
• At least the Cubs lost. And the Illini won.
  

On the Plus Side, It Didn't Take Long

The Angels picked up where they left off in 2005, unable to mount any offense, but you've got to hand it to Beckett. He was very impressive. They can talk all they want about making him work, but the guy was firing strikes all night, and the only thing you accomplish by taking pitches is getting yourself behind in the count. We've all seen the Angels struggle against mediocre pitching before, but that wasn't the case tonight. Remember, Beckett has a pretty stellar post-season history, so it's not like they got shut down by John Garland.

Still, the offense certainly didn't inspire confidence. They haven't really seen Dice-K yet. Usually you figure that matchup goes to the pitcher, but anything can happen.

With luck, Rivera will be able to play the outfield on Friday, allowing either Willits or Izturis to head to the bench. Either would have been preferable to Aybar in a pinch hitting role tonight.

Other positives: Lackey sharpened up considerably after his rough start, which couldn't have surprised anyone. But it's a reason for optimism if they can get this to a fourth game. Of course, that means Beckett again, but at this point, I'd take it. Santana also looked terrific in his relief role. The off-day tomorrow could be huge in that it will allow him to pitch in game five if a) Escobar's shoulder doesn't hold up, or b) the Sox force him into 100 pitches through five innings, both or which aren't particularly improbable.

And hey, they lost game one every time in 2002. Not over yet.

A Fine Series Preview

Or at least, a fine example of a preview that picks against the Angels, yet is still well thought out and researched, and concludes that, surprise, a team with a better record and a much better run differential is better than their opponent. Contrary to some people who have their heads up their asses, I'm not the Pollyanna you may have thought I was.

Baker's preview is flawed with respect to the rosters he cites. Colon, Matthews, and Bootcheck will not see action for the Angels. But I think he best sums up the problems I have with certain other Angels bloggers is best summed up here:

Focusing on what they don’t do is a mistake that is often made when analyzing the Angels

All anyone asks for is balance. The Angels may not be as good as the Red Sox. They may be just as good. They may be better. But regardless of how they match up with the Sox, they are a very good team. A team that has good pitching, and despite certain individuals' love affair with peripherals, they finished fourth in the AL in runs scored. Not over a week. Not over a month. Over 162 games.

The best news, of course, is that this evening, they'll line up and play the game, and all of the whining can cease until after the series is over, when I'm sure Rob will point out how he was right about everything, win or lose.

Playoff Eve

As long time readers will no doubt already know, I'm nothing if not the most optimistic fan who's ever donned an Angels cap in support of his team. So before this gets started, let me warn you, I don't actually pick the Angels to win every single game. I mean, in most of the early round games they aren't even playing, so I have to choose between the teams that are. And you may want to sit down for this, but I actually think the Angels might lose a game or two. Crazy, I know.

But anyway, here goes:

Division Series

Cubs in four: I honestly couldn't care less about the National League, and despite the fact that I live in Chicago, I know almost nothing about either team. Still, it seems as if the Cubs are hot, and and I just can't buy into a team with a negative run differential on the season going very far.

Phillies in five: This has the potential to an amazing series, and a purists nightmares. hitters parks galore, and two teams who ended the season on fire to charge their way to the playoffs. Again, National League, don't really care. But this one might be fun to watch.

Indians in five: The Yankees offense steps up in games two and three to bring the Yankees to the verge of the ALCS, but the Indians find another gear in the last two games to take the series. Though I'll admit, part of me wants to see the Yankees win, with Alex Rodriguez leading the way. The guy one of the greatest players of this generation, and he's unfairly maligned for his performance in clutch situations. I wouldn't mind seeing him shake that.

Angels in four: They lose game one when Lackey falls victim to the Lackey inning. But Escobar dominates in game two, and Weaver and the pen hold off the Sox in game three, setting up Lackey's revenge. Yankees and Red Sox go home, giving the NHL a minor ratings boost as the country stops caring about baseball, except for the Cubs.

League Championship Series

Cubs in five: A surprisingly easy series as some guys do some good things for the Cubs, and some other guys do some not so good things for the Phillies. Sorry, but I really don't care for the National League.

Angels in seven: I really want to pick the Indians in this series, but I've been told that "Anything that casts doubt on the Angels is enough to get Seitz going." Because it's getting kind of late, I don't want to get myself going, so I should probably pick the Angels in this one. I think Ervin Santana will have to prove his mettle at least twice in this series, once as a starter and once as a reliever. I also have a hunch that Casey Kotchman will put up big power numbers, like three or four homers in one series, including one off a lefty. I have no basis for that, other than a hunch. But the Indians have played the Angels really tough all year, and in the games I've seen, they don't appear to be a team that can be out-smarted.

World Series

Angels in five: I'm kind of torn here, and really in the whole playoffs. Not who I want to win, or think will win. Rather, I'm torn over how I want the Cubs to lose. Would I prefer a four or five game thrashing, dashing the hopes of Cubs fans everywhere almost before the series gets started? Or would I rather the Cubs suffer another Bartmanesque collapse, putting half the city (my half) into a three week state of shock, one night likely to be broken by either the awful Bears or awful Blackhawks? It's a tough call. If you could guarantee me that the Angels would win in seven, my dream would be for the Angels to overcome a ten run deficit in the the night, sending the game to extra innings. In extra innings, the Cubs would take the lead every inning, only for the Angels to come back and tie the game again, until finally, a Reggie Willits grand slam gives the Angels a one run victory in the bottom of the sixteenth. Of course, such a loss would undoubtedly make Cubs fans more insufferable than they already are, and almost as insufferable as they'd be if they one the thing.

But ultimately, if I'm watching this series, I'd rather see a merciless drubbing. Double digit victories every night, except for one bone that we'll throw to the Cubs. Either way, hopefully my Angels hat will be good for free beers on the Southside next year.

So that's your forecast from the most optimistic Angels fan in Angels fan history.

Three Times in Four Years

The Angels won three division titles in the first 30 years of my life. They've now won three in the last four. I know when it comes to blogging the Angels, I've kind of been a bit negligent this season, and I have no real explanation for that, other than apathy. But rest assured, I've followed this team as closely as all the others, and though the clinch was a bit anti-climactic (yet what we'd all hope for - a week without pressure before the playoffs), it feels good to be an Angels fan tonight, much as it has for the last five years.

We're all extraordinarily fortunate to be Angels fans at this point in the team's history. We're witnessing the era of an owner who, if not perfect, is certainly as close as a baseball owner can be to perfect. We have a GM and Manager, both with their flaws, but both incredibly well suited to running this club at this time. I grew up when Tommy Lasorda was managing the Dodgers, and it seemed like he was there forever. Before him, it was Walter Alston. All the while, the Angels were cycling through managers like there was no tomorrow. Gene Autry, God bless him, ran the team like there was no tomorrow as well, constantly mortgaging the future for the present. And while they almost succeeded, the success was always fleeting, ultimately leading to the dark ages between 1987 and 2001.

But fate has finally smiled on us, and today we get to root for an organization not only dedicated to winning today, but tomorrow as well. We have an owner dedicated to providing not only a quality team, but a quality entertainment experience. We have players we don't have to be ashamed of rooting for. At least 15 spots on the post-season roster will go to players who have never worn a different major league uniform. And the best part? No matter what happens over the next month, the team should be just as good next year.

So enjoy this one today. Relax for a week. Maybe pop open a bottle of this stuff like I just did, and gear up for October. Congratulations, Angels.

New Big Thing

This guy is freaking incredible. I am in love with the music of Simple Kid. Vids below. New Song of the Day post over here. Get in on the ground floor.

Embarrassing

Karl Dorrell should be fired before the team gets on the plane home. This football program is an embarrassment. I've been easier on him than a lot of people, but this is pretty much the last straw.

If this is the best they can do with 20 returning starters, he has to go. And he should go now.

Coming Attractions

September 17th - BRMC @ the Metro


September 25th - Metric @ the Metro


September 27th - Gruff Rhys @ Schuba's


October 3rd - Earlimart @ Schuba's


More to come. six or seven more in fact.

So....

...Is Stanford that bad or UCLA that good? I'm guessing a little bit of both. The offense looked very good. Indeed, Ben Olson threw for five touchdowns, and if his 289 yards sounds less than impressive, it probably because as a team, the Bruins ran for 338 yards, 195 of which were accumulated by Khalil Bell. They were extremely efficient, averaging about eight yards per play. Olson found nine different receivers, none of whom were Osaar Rashaan.

On the other side of the ball, for the first few drives that I saw, I was left unimpressed. Of course, I happened to miss a good first quarter, and tuned in during the lackluster second quarter - or rather, Comcast pre-empted the beginning of the game to bring us Cubs post-game. The line wasn't getting a ton of pressure, and Trey Brown made some nice break-ups that were borderline interference, which isn't to say he was lucky they weren't called. Rather, the point is that college officials, especially Pac Ten officials, suck, and they'll often call interference on those plays.

But in the second half, the defense really picked up. Stanford never got anything going on the ground, finishing with only 52 yards for the game. T.J. Ostrander had Bruins in his face for much of the game, and his 330 yards passing were more a function of one big play, and a UCLA offense that put enough points on the board to force Stanford into a game of catch-up.

Ultimately, it's an excellent start. It's hard to judge just how good a team is before they play a few games, at which point we can evaluate their opponents as well. And with Michigan's huge blunder, and Notre Dame's embarrassment, the Bruins aren't likely to make a splash in the media. But they'll move up in the polls, and they've done nothing to show that they are somewhere other than where they belong. The defense faces a sterner test next week against BYU at the Rose Bowl.

Petty Theft

The Angels should not have won tonight. They should not have been able to spot Seattle five runs in the first inning and still win going away. But somehow you just had the feeling that if Moseley could come in and get hold Seattle down, they might just get a few runs off of Jeff Weaver. And if they could keep it close in the late innings, well, you never know.

And I don't want this to read like an I told you so. If the Angels had traded for Mark Teixeira, I certainly would have welcomed him with open arms. But when you look at how the Angels won this game, you have to ask yourself if maybe Bill Stoneman knows what he's doing. Over the last few years, the Angels have had a very good farm system, and there have been calls at one point or another to trade any and all of their prospects, some of whom have seen the bloom come off the rose.

Two of the players that whose names have been bandied about are Jeff Mathis and Kendry Morales. Forced into action because of injuries, they combined for five hits, three for extra bases, and four runs tonight. Dustin Mosely, who likely would not have pitched tonight if Joe Saunders had been dealt, threw 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing the Angels to creep back into the game before breaking it open in the 8th. Sometimes, a team goes a whole season without losing a starter *cough*Mariners*cough* and organizational depth is worthless. But that's rare, and the teams that win have guys that can step in and produce when a starter goes down. The Angels would not be where they are right now without the contributions of Willits, Aybar, Morales, Saunders, Moseley, Mathis, and Bootcheck, none of whom were expected to provide much support.

The Angels have now won the two games they needed to win. The Mariners have the pitching matchup in their favor tomorrow, but little Weav may have what it takes to leave Seattle with a sweep.

By the way, the big bat that people wanted so badly? I'm not saying it wouldn't have helped, but let's not forget, the Angels are still fourth in the AL in runs scored. Last time I checked, that's pretty good.

A Response

To this post at Rob's site, which is really kind of pathetic. But since the chances are pretty good that he'll delete the response I left in his comments, so here it is:

Wow, I'm flattered to know I've warranted a special post. I'll break character and actually post this response on my blog, since you'll probably delete it. Not exactly why you can't let what I wrote speak for itself, but so be it.

It's funny that I'm accused of personal attacks when it was you that called me an asshole for simply agreeing with another poster that the constant negativity coming from you was getting tired. And this is coming from someone who has been pretty negative in the past. Just ask Matt. But even I couldn't keep up with you on that front.

And accusing me of reading things into your posts, well, it's pretty pathetic. Sorry, but when you say "I won't say [Weaver] failed to do his job" common sentence construction suggests that the writer is implying that there's a case to be made for exactly that.

I'm not allowed, apparently, to suggest the Angels are anything less than a playoff team.

I'd be careful around matches, because you're likely to set fire to all of these strawmen that you've taken such care in building. Has anyone made such a suggestion? Hell, I'm not sure if the Angels are a playoff team. Hell, I've got tickets for five or six concerts in October, and it would make my life a lot easier if the Angels were left out. But I'm not sure how whining about it and worrying about it post, after post, after post adds anything constructive to the discourse. Most Angels fans can read the standings. Most people on Halos Heaven watch every game, and they can tell when the Angels are playing well and when they aren't. And it's not particularly fun to beaten over the head with posts about their poor performances, let alone be reminded of those poor performances EVER AFTER GOOD PERFORMANCES! Christ, I get the impression that when you buy a bottle of water, you immediately dump most of it out just so you can claim it's half empty.

I don't know what it is about this season, but it's certainly been worse than the last few. It's just been near constant negativity about every aspect of the team, all the way down the minors. And I still like some of the things you do here. Certainly the minor league updates (aside from the commentary) is more informative than BA's prospect report when it comes to Angels prospects. But your unique ability to not only see the negative in virtually everything, but find it inspiring enough to write about is particularly grating. And believe me, I'm not the only one who thinks so.

But it's your site. You can wallow in your own misery to your heart's (dis)content. Lord knows I tried to point out how it was bringing everyone down earlier in the season. When Matt did the same for me, I laughed it off and had fun with it. But you seem get more and more defensive. Just don't let all of that misery eat you up inside, because being right isn't worth being miserable, and being wrong makes winning a lot less fun.

Small Town Gets Media Coverage

According to this AP story, the oil boom in an Eastern Montana town has been such a boon to employment that the owner of a local McDonalds in the 5,000 person town of Sidney, Montana has outsourced the drive through window to a Texas telemarketing firm.

Why do I care? My dad grew up in Sidney. It's about five miles from North Dakota and about ninety miles from Canada. My uncle owned an insurance agency that has since been passed to my aunt and cousins. Prior to that, my grandfather owned a clothing shop in town. My aunt and uncle had five kids, and they've added another seven grandchildren, so the Seitz name is fairly prominent in Sidney. It's kind of cool to see the town in the news. I was just back there last summer.

Angels 1; Jays 4

This, in my opinion, was a game the Angels could afford to lose. They were throwing their #6 starter against a former Cy Young award winner, and one of the five best starters in the AL. Throw in the house of horrors that Skydome has been, and the odds were not in their favor.

Halladay overcame a first inning run to basically dominate the Angels over the final eight innings, throwing an extremely efficient 99 pitches, 71 of which were strikes.

On the other side of the diamond, the Jays picked up four runs of their own in the first, three of which were earned, and only two of which, maybe even only one of which ever should have crossed the plate. While Saunders got knocked around by the first couple of hitters, the defense really did him in. Erick Aybar booted a double play ball which saddled Saunders (who had already given up a run) with a bases loaded - none out situation as opposed to a runner on third with two out. A sac fly made it 2-1 Jays. A double made the score 3-1 and put runners on first and third when Greg Zaun hit a grounder to Figgins. Figgins came home to nail Vernon Wells, but Jeff Mathis dropped the ball, loading the bases once again. After a second sac fly made the score 4-1, Joe Saunders settled in and didn't allow a run over the next six innings.

Saunders gave the Angels exactly what they need out of the fourth spot in the rotation, and tonight the bats and the gloves let him down. Erick Aybar in particular struggled tonight, and I can only assume Scioscia wanted to give Cabrera two consecutive days off to let him recharge going into this stretch of 17 games in 16 days. Plus, he's a switch hitter against a tough right hander. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have OC in there, but I can't fault Scioscia.

So they put this one behind them, and hope to come out and do a little better tomorrow. An Eastern trip at this point of the season has notoriously been a killer for the Angels, but they can regain some momentum with a win tomorrow night

From the Department of Underrated

Sometimes a band's back catalog is so good that the later stuff gets overlooked, especially after their flame has flickered. But this is probably one of the best Mary Chain songs that hardly anyone has ever heard.



Still, I always kind of preferred Jim Reid songs to William Reid songs. To wit:

What the....?

This was not what I expected hear playing on the store P.A. when I walked into Kohl's today to buy some socks:


It's not even from the forthcoming record. It's a from an 11 year old album that about 13 or 14 people in this country have ever heard. Still, it was pretty freaking awesome, and it really put me in the mood to buy socks. Well done, Kohl's.

Is this thing still on?

Motivation is lacking. I can't quite explain why. It's just really, really easy to stop blogging.

Anyway, in the midst of what seemed like a really rough stretch, the Angels have made it to the first week in August with a four game lead, picking up another half game by defeating the vaunted Red Sox, a team whom others expected to sweep the Angels, primarily because the Angels, the fifth best run scoring team in the American League, have no offense.

Quite honestly, these are good examples of why my motivation to provide what can loosely be described as original content has waned considerably. Long time readers will acknowledge that I can be a tad bit negative when the Angels aren't playing well. But I look like a goddamn Pollyana compared to some of the more popular members of the halosphere, and it's bringing me down.

So while I've still been watching every game, at least when not playing golf, my desire to jot down my thoughts has more or less disappeared for now. Partly because there are other people who have that covered, and I'm not really sure how much more I add to the discussion.

Anyway, if this passess, it will be back to normal around here. For now, blogging will remain intermittent.

Enjoy:




And a little flashback:

Angels Make Big Deadline Deals

The Angels surprised everyone today by trading Gary Matthews Jr., Maicer Izturis, and Orlando Cabrera for guys who can hit home runs. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to get the uniforms stitched, because the new guys were still wearing the old uniforms, but they were clearly different players, as they helped the Angels hit as many homers in this game as they had hit in practically the entire month of July leading up to it.

Man, it's been a while

Big three game sweep over the Tigers this weekend. Tack those onto the win over Oakland last week and the Angels find themselves on a short four game winning streak. It may not be much, but it's the first sign of things turning around that the Angels have had in a while. They even hit two whole home runs in one game the other day!

The bats really came alive, and whether that's more the fault of the Tigers' pitching staff, it really doesn't matter. Sometimes you need some layups to build confidence, and that's what the Angels got over the weekend. Now it's on to Seattle where they can either create some breathing room, or let the Mariners climb right back into the race. It's a cliche, but it's definitely gut check time.

Another one gone

Nothing you can do now but hope they pull out of it. If the Angels fall behind Seattle and end up failing to make the playoffs, they'll have no one but themselves to blame. Dumb baserunning, poor fielding, and a gawd-awful back of the rotation.

They're not out of it, but they certainly aren't playing like they want to finish in first place. They're on the verge of being swept by Tampa Bay, and I'm not gonna look this up, but there can't be many teams who have been swept by both the Royals and Devil Rays. That alone ought to disqualify a team from the playoffs.

Oh well. Rob won't have Santana to kick around anymore.

Decision Time

I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I think it's time to either move Ervin to the pen, or to send him back to Salt Lake. I think he's still got the stuff, and I think the Angels won't make the playoffs without some contribution from him down the stretch. Whether that means he gets thing worked out and rejoins the rotation for the last five weeks or so, or he pitches out of the pen (though I'm not sure in what role), I'm not sure. But I still think he's somewhat integral to their chances to make the post-season.

He doesn't look hurt. He hasn't lost any velocity. He's simply getting hit, and getting hit very hard. The thing is, he's nowhere near a lost cause. He's like an extra strength version of a young Lackey. He'll throw a couple of solid innings, but then he'll hit some adversity, and fall apart. He's falling victim to Lackey innings on a huge scale. But that also means that there's hope. He just needs to figure out how to avoid the big innings. I just don't think the Angels can afford to let him figure it out in the starting rotation. And unfortunately, there's still an 800 pound Bartolo in the room.

Not that it mattered, but the Angels have turned into a very poor baserunning team recently, and tonight was no different with Jose Molina making the first out of the inning at third base on a failed bid for a triple/three base error after he ripped one to the center field wall that BJ Upton couldn't catch. It was still a game at that point, and it was stupid. It seems to be happening with greater frequency lately.

With each loss, the next game becomes more crucial. We'll see if they bring it tomorrow night.

Catching up

Coming to you tonight from my work laptop on a stolen wireless connection (yay for apartment living) mostly because I'm too lazy to plug my router in. When I got home tonight, my old Gateway desktop, just shy of its sixth birthday, appears to have passed away. It was a fine soldier, surviving one apartment move, and a great deal of neglect where maintenance is concerned. Such is life, I guess.

Anyway, over the last few weeks, the Angels have seen a comfortable 7-8 game lead or so dwindle to three, two in the loss column. Their poor play has coincided with a bit of a hot streak from the Mariners to close the gap. It's also coincided with injuries to Casey Kotchman, Howie Kendrick, and Mike Napoli. It hasn't helped that Chone Figgins and Reggie Willits cooled off at the same time. And while Lackey, Weaver, and Escobar have been as advertised (save for a rough one here or there), Santana and Colon have struggled mightily.

So where's the good news? The Angels are still in first place. Willits and Figgins appear to be rising back to an acceptable level. Also promising has been Garret Anderson, who is hitting 382/417/471 in the month of July, and has gone for two hits in six of his last seven games. Even Kotchman has had hits in four of his last five. Sure, it's only been a hit at a time, but he appears to be emerging from the horrendous slump that followed his concussion. And as a 24 year old, Kotchman is streaky. We've learned that this season. He's had his recent bad streak, and he's due for a hot streak. Couple those with the return of Juan Rivera, hopefully next month, and the return of Justin Speier to the bullpen, and the Angels are primed for a run that takes them into September with a solid lead.

Also key will be late July and August series at Seattle, especially the July series. I can't see a change of more than a game or two in the current standing before then, and if they Angels go in up three and leave up one, it gives Seattle hope, and the Mariners' belief in themselves might be the Angels biggest enemy right now. They have 10 games left with the Mariners, and only four of them are in Anaheim (fortunately all in late September). Those 10 games will decide the division.

So that's where we're at. Napoli and Kendrick will be back soon. Rivera shortly thereafter. They're poised to make a run, and they have a nice mix in their starting lineup of guys who've been there before and guys who should be hungry to get there. Santana and Colon can't possibly be any worse, so that's a plus as well. It's the second half. It's time for scoreboard watching. And it's time for the Angels to get moving.

Flight of the Conchords

Holy Crap. This is by far the funniest show currently on television, at least while the office is on hiatus. Seriously, if you have HBO and you're not watching this show, you are....well...I'm sorry, I can't stand to look at you. You really need to watch this show.