i did an actual double-take after firing up espn.com last night. the top headline of the deck said “former reliever beck dead at 38.” rod beck? no freakin’ way.

i didn’t have any particular attachment to rod beck; he was just a successful mid-90s reliever, not unlike jeff brantley or randy myers or anyone else from that era. however, beck absolutely personified a closer: the menacing look, the moustache, the long hair, the feel that he’d have no problem whatsoever busting you under the chin with a fastball. the anti-nathan, if you will.

beck made his name with the giants, but– for me– i’ll always remember him as a chicago cub. it was saturday, july 4, 1998, and i was in a bar in downtown chicago. i was there for training for CSC, and several of us decided to hit some random drinking establishment in the early afternoon to prep for the fireworks display on lake michigan later that night. the cubbies were playing the pirates, and, as i am wont to do, i found myself transfixed on the game, which was being shown on one of the multiple large-screen TVs. chicago was up 5-4 when beck was brought in for the ninth.

he looked… like a bull. you could imagine the smoke coming out of his nose. he was kicking dirt, spitting, glaring… i don’t remember any of the pirates batters, but they all looked pretty frightened about stepping in the batter’s box against beck. he dispatched the pirates 1-2-3 to lead to another cubs win, a further step on their trip to the playoffs that year. (incidentally, beck imploded during the NLDS against the braves.)

rest in peace, mr. beck. baseball needs more characters like you.

The title of this post isn’t a judgement call, see for yourself.

I caught this article in the Strib on the challenges a couple in Edina have been coping with for the past 10 months. (for those readers not familiar with “Edina” it is… well, not what is described in that wikipedia entry. it is a stereotypical rich and toney suburb of Minneapolis which is equally much desired and much derided… e.g. “Edina stands for “Every Day I Need Attention” or referring to residents as “Cake-Eaters”
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As we have written many many many times on this website, why is it that every time Austin Minnesota is mentioned in the news it is always for something not good.

Case in point.

In case you are coming across this after the link has expired, the short version is that an Austin man was upset for getting a parking ticket, and decided to send dog poop in with his ticket payment. Hilarity ensues… if by “hilarity” you mean the woman who opened the envelope apparently contracted some sort of illness from coming into contact with the poop.

To quote the Boss: “My hometown, my hometown, my…home…town”

I would like to apologize for the recent lack of productivity (at least from me), but you know what… I’m too damn busy to feel sorry or to apologize. And really, without any actual feelings of guilt, what good is an apology.

I am living a life in hell lately as I am tasked with gathering requirements even though my title is “Senior Project Manager”.
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B-Sharp.

Thank you folks, I’ll be here all week. Try the veal. Sir, how’s your steak?

Ahem. Irrelevant, because I’m coming about fifteen years late to this party, but I’m ready to proclaim that The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the sophomore effort by The Black Crowes, is quite possibly superior to their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker. Considering that I gave SYMM an honorable mention way back when, I feel that this is a fairly noteworthy statement for me. Speaking of, that ‘best discs’ column is due for a serious revision. Somebody put that on my To Do pile, will you? Thanks.

Feel free to chime in, if not about this, then about underrated albums, or albums that it took you a long time to appreciate.