Brad Lidge timeline

Born: December 23, 1976

Attended Notre Dame University

1995: Drafted by Giants, but did not sign

1998: Drafted by Astros

Debut: April 26, 2002 (Astros)

2003: Received win in 6-pitcher no-hitter

2003: Astros Rookie of the Year

2004: Set NL reliever strikeout record (157)

2005: Surrendered dramatic home run to Albert Pujols in NLCS

2005: Astros win pennant

2006: Pitched in World Baseball Classic

2007: Struggles all season

2007: Traded to Philadelphia

2008: Perfect in save opportunities

2008: Phillies win World Series

2008: Comeback Player of the Year

2008: Deliveryman of the Year

2008: Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Athlete of the Year

2009: Injuries made him a gas can

2009: Phillies lose World Series

2010: Elbow surgery

2011: Spent much of the season on the DL

2012: Signed with Nationals

2012: Retired

Accomplishments:

2008 World Champion

2x All Star

2008 Relief Man of the Year

2008 Comeback Player of the Year

Highest Strikeout per Nine Innings rate in history (12.2/9)

Participated in No-Hitter (2003)

NL Strikeout record for relievers: 157 (2004)

26-32 record

225 Saves

3.54 ERA

Sub 2 ERA: 2x

Sub 3 ERA: 4x

603 Games

20+ saves: 6x

30+ saves: 4x

40+ saves: 2x

80+ IP: 2x

94.2 IP (2004)

799 Strikeouts

100+ strikeouts: 3x

0.919 WHIP (2004)

Postseason: 2-4, 18 Saves, 2.18 ERA, 1.125 WHIP (14 series)

Sci-Fi History: The Adventures of Superman (1952-58)

Superman debuted in comic form in 1938. Fourteen years later, the first Superman TV series hit the small screen. Kellogg’s sponsored the show, which appeared in black and white for the first two years. George Reeves starred as Superman and the show featured state of the art special effects. The show’s opening and theme song have become part of pop culture. The show was cancelled in 1958, but producers planned to bring it back the next year. George Reeves murder mysterious murder ended The Adventures of Superman for good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0B1ufyXOds

T'Pol timeline

Born: 2088

As a child: Betrothed to Koss. She would marry and later divorce him.

2135: By this point, working for Vulcan Intelligence. In 2135, one of her first assignments was to capture several rogue agents.

Sometime between 2135 and 2149: Served on the Seleya.

2149: Assigned to Earth as an aide to Ambassador Sovol

2150: Experienced an emotional response to Jazz

2151: Assigned to Enterprise as science officer and first officer

2151: Exposed to hallucinogenic on an uninhabited planet

2151: P’Jem Incident

2151: The Vulcan High Command later attempts to blame T’Pol for the discovery of the listening post at P’Jem

2151: Suffers Pa’nar Syndrome after forced mind meld

2152: Captured and tortured by Suliban

2152: Saved the ship when Enterprise went through a trinary star system

2153: Xindi Attack on Earth

2153-4: Enterprise spends year in Expanse

2153: Becomes addicted to Trellium-D

2153: Travels back to 2004 Detroit

2154: Enterprise defeats Sphere Builders

2154: Captured by Orion slavers; escapes

2154: Augment Crisis

2154: Participates in Vulcan Awakening

2154: Romulan drone crisis

2155: Terra Prime incident

2155-61: Romulan War

2161: Founding of Federation

2186: By this point, Ambassador and married to Charles Tucker III with children. She officially remarried Koss to cover her relationship.

Mid-23^rd century: In an alternate reality, T’Pol was alive and pushing 200. No reason to believe she wouldn’t be doing the same in the Prime Universe.

Sci Fi History: War of the Worlds (1953)

The 1953 film is loosely based on the H.G. Wells novel. The film differs from the book in several aspects. In particular, the role of religion, the aliens look, and the alien spacecraft all differ.  Additionally, the original was set in Victorian England while the film has a decidedly Cold War feel including nuclear weapons. In the end, the 1953 adaptation won an Oscar for special effects and included in the National Film Registry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9T9f3UbGuo

Quotes of the Month: November 2012

Quote of the Month:

"I remember when I went to the ownership meetings in Colorado in August, and I was walking back from dinner with Tony La Russa (retired Cardinals manager) and we're talking about statistics and about WAR. And, no offense to the player, but when I woke up that morning they had on the (ESPN.com) site that Darwin Barney that day was ranked ahead of Miguel Cabrera in WAR. And I don't mean anything against Darwin Barney, but there wasn't a person in Major League Baseball who on that particular day would have traded Miguel Cabrera for Darwin Barney. So, when people say WAR is all-encompassing, that loses the argument to me right there."

-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski

Stupid Quote of the month:

“Thank God for Hurricane Sandy!”

-Chris Mathews

And the rest…

“All white folks are going to hell.”

-Rev Joseph Lowery

"There's never been a day in the last four years I've been proud to be his vice president."

-Joe Biden

 “Obamacare is the law of the land.”

-John Boehner

“Israel has opened the gates of hell.”

-Qassam Brigade

“I thought you were going to win, then the hurricane happened, and gave the president a chance to be presidential, and to look bipartisan.”

-Bill Clinton to Mitt Romney

“Our Lord and savior Barack Obama.”

-Jamie Foxx

Man of the Year: 2012

Not as many candidates for Person of the Year as for Douche Bags, but here they are:

Barack Obama: He won re-election…despite the sleaziest campaign in nearly 200 years.

Foo Fighters: They are on hiatus after nearly two decades. Here’s hoping they return soon.

Gotye: Big year for the guy with that weird song.

England: Great job with the Olympics.

 James Bond: Best film in at least two decades, perhaps more.

Christopher Nolan: Wrapped up the Dark Knight series splendidly. Nice use of the French Revolution and Occupy Wallstreet.

Maroon 5: Big year for these guys.

And the winner…

Miguel Cabrera: MVP, Triple Crown, ‘nuf said.

Previous winners: Rahm Emmanuel (2006), Al Gore (2007), Barack Obama (2008), Leonard Nimoy (2009), Drew Brees (2010), and Justin Verlander (2011)

Douche Bags of the Year 2012

It’s time for the annual Douche Bag of the Year Awards. So many douche bags this year….

Here are the nominees:

Barack Obama: He accused Romney of being a tax cheat, felon, and other slurs. Although re-elected, the Obama campaign was the sleaziest since 1828.

Mike Love: He fired the original Beach Boys.

Jeffrey Loria and Bud Selig: When will Selig’s reign of terror end? When will Loria’s? Loria should be banned for life.

Ozzie Guillen: Castro is a murderous thug.

Kristen Stewart: The great Trampire of 2012

The Kardashians: Please go away. The only one in that family that has ever done ANYTHING is Bruce Jenner.

Anonymous: Cyber attacks on countries defending themselves is immoral. The Palestinians are NOT victims.

Chris Mathews: He has lost his mind. Praising Hurricane Sandy? Really?

The Media: Worst demonstration of bias since the Soviet Union collapsed.

Austerity Protesters: You guys can cut now or have nothing later.

Mayor Bloomberg: The soda ban and performance during Sandy leave a lot to be desired.

Gary Betman: You might have killed the NHL. Congrats.

Sabermetrics community: You guys embarrassed yourselves during the MVP debate.

And the winners:

Jerry Sandusky/Joe Paterno/Penn State: ‘nuf said.

Previous winners: Reality TV people (2009), LeBron James (2010), Casey Anthony (2011)