Elevator Games

You guys ever play elevator roulette?

It's when you get in the elevator on a high floor alone, pass wind and hope to get down to the lobby level without someone getting in and absolutely knowing that you were responsible.

I lost yesterday...

BLACK SEPTEMBER REVISITED

We haven't had any seriousness here in a while. Perhaps it is time.
Here is a piece sent to me from a friend in Israel:


By, J.W.

Unable to hold back the tears much longer, I left the plane, slowly descending the ladder from the door of the plane, onto a jeep, and then onto the desert floor. I had a feeling of emptiness--I was being taken away from my family to a place that I didn’t know anything about. I had no one to console me except nine other men who felt the same as I did.


So begins the newly released Terror in Black September published by Palgrave Macmillan, the first eyewitness account of the September 1970 hijackings. It is authored by David Raab, who was held hostage for three weeks amidst a Jordanian civil war and a torrent of high level international diplomacy aimed as securing his and his fellow captives’ release. Raab, who has gone on to become a management consultant and a prominent pro-Israel activist, experienced the events as a seventeen year old high school student returning from a summer vacation in Israel with his mother and four siblings. The flight originating from Tel Aviv that he and his family were aboard was seized along with three other airplanes by the radical Palestinian group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who intended to use their captives to gain the release of Palestinian terrorists in Israeli and European prisons.



Through this book, released on September 6th to mark the 37th anniversary of the hijacking, Raab returns readers to an unprecedented drama of turmoil and uncertainty that united the global Jewish community with much of the Western world and opened up a more virulent and deeply troubling era of terrorism. The terror group formed and named after the calamity that befell the Palestinians during Black September’s fighting went on to perpetrate the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. And, while international terrorism has since taken innumerable dark twists and turns, September 1970 still stands as a watershed event in the development of modern terrorism, with its quadruple hijackings mimicked by Al-Qaeda 31 years later on September 11.



The book intertwines excerpts from a diary the author recorded shortly after his release with a thoroughly researched history of the surrounding events. Through this unique lens of storytelling, which allows a historical record to read more like a suspense novel, Raab combines the personal perspectives of an innocent teenager swept up in one of the most tumultuous events of the time with the informed understanding of that period as viewed through the benefit of hindsight and newly-uncovered information.



Accessing thousands of previously classified documents and conversations, the book provides several never-before-published historical findings and describes a saga which, taking place amidst the already tense fabric of the Cold War, originated in the deserts of Jordan but carried over into halls of power from Washington to Moscow, London, and Jerusalem. In so doing, Raab offers a glimpse into the fascinatingly cutthroat yet typically hidden arena of the international diplomacy that kept his life and that of his fellow hostages in the balance as politicians and military leaders debated what measures to take, offensive, defensive, and punitive. For example, he writes:



In addition to hard diplomacy, [U.S. President Richard] Nixon also wanted [Henry] Kissinger to plan “some punishment…because we said we would hold them responsible. And we’ve got to keep our pledge in that respect…I want to have something we can do - not just a big statement. We just go in with a merciless air strike on somebody – even the Syrians.”…


At 7:00PM the Washington Special Actions Group met in the White House Situation Room to develop a final recommendation for the president on whether and how the United States or Israel should intervene, if asked. Within twenty minutes, the group concluded that it would be preferable for Israel to act, with U.S. forces “holding the ring” against Soviet intervention.


As the first book-length offering from Raab, who has previously authored several essays published by Israel-based think tanks as well as numerous editorial pieces featured in North American Jewish weeklies, Terror in Black September is a historical work that will be of benefit to the academic world but is also, at its core, a moving personal drama. Today, a father of three and grandfather of six who splits his time between New Jersey and Raanana, Israel, Raab concludes that his book is not just the story of an individual’s survival but rather is symbolic of a far more consequential triumph.



I think about my experiences in Jordan almost every day. My family and I celebrate a day of thanksgiving every anniversary of my miraculous release from captivity. It bothered me that no book had ever been written fully documenting Black September. I have now written that history. It is said that history is written by the victors.

Duke - UNC

I can't wait for college basketball to start. So anything I can find is getting posted.

This is a prank that was pulled on Cav's GM and former Duke player, Danny Ferry in his new office.

Here is the story...

College Kid Tasered - Wimpy College Kids React... sort of

This video has been on the news. Instant classic. Great question by the kid with great delivery. Definitely humorous. Gotta love the political nuts making their point.

Best thing is - Good ole John Kerry doesn't even flinch. He's answering the freakin question while this kid is on the floor in the back screaming and getting shot by the cops with a taser gun.




Ahhh... now for the reaction from the college kids who are still young enough to be gung ho anti-government. Modern-day pussy protesters. In the old days 4000 college kids would have shut down 3 Universities for 2 weeks protesting. A bunch of them would have wound up in jail, beaten and soaked by police power water hoses and batons. Today??? They put up a video blog expressing disappointment in everyone else for not acting up and protesting.

Get off your fat ass and go break some laws to protest. Stop telling other people to do it for you...

Here is the ditzy girl:



The scary white guy who later shoots up his class:



The uninformed half-white, half-minority, half-gay student who pretends he knows the rules:



The drama queen:



The whiny "I don't want to be a part of this country any more" fag:



The black dude:



God pipes in:



What an idiot...


Finally, I leave with the most important opinion. The scrawny white kid with acne problems who doesn't truly understand that issues at hand, but feels the need to pipe in and be heard because someone told him posting on youtube is cool:



Tell me if I'm wrong, but unless that kid (who appears to be sitting in the video) is a 6'10 basketball player from Croatia who is heading to the NBA next year, he is going to die a virgin. I'm not trying to be mean - ok maybe I am - but that is one ugly little man.

Yankee Fans Are Creative

Same thing to a Met fan and more clear:



This one is beautiful:


The always famous:


And they do road shows too:

The Kevin Durant Era

This guy makes me laugh...

Football Stadium Prank

Nothing like the faggy kid who couldn't make an athletic team using his brain to take out his frustrations on the football program...



Here is an explanation of what you just saw in case you didn't figure it out:

Getting out of hand here

OK, so the Brittney one is hilarious. The Belichick one is even funnier...

But now I think we might be getting out of hand...




OK, I'm not going to lie - this one is pretty funny... Brittney responds -

Shelley Duncan gets cooler and cooler

What could be cooler than making a whiny little Red Sox fax cry?


WAA...WAA...WAA...


Answer: making his parents bitch to the media about something so ridiculous (and so funny) that it becomes clear they have no sense of humor whatsoever.

Funny for a minute or two

You know how some things start off with a great concept and strong potential... but then plummet unexpectedly...

like... this clip for example.

11 Guys At The Playground - Watch more free videos

I just wish someone who could develop the idea had the time and resources to do it properly. It's a pretty good idea that could have been much funnier.

Immovable fat guy? A rare site. Usually the immovable fat guy is part of "I got skillz's" posse. "I got skillz" of course wasn't in the video, because they screwed up. I got skillz is the guy who comes to play who takes 75% of the shots and turns the ball over the rest of the time trying to make something happen. He's the guy that everyone on the court can't stand, but yet walks away as if he is god's gift to ball. Of course he NEVER gets convinced otherwise because when he leaves the court, his only friend, immovable fat guy, is there to tell him how good he is and how bad his team was.

Rule Book guy? I never saw a guy quote the 24 second shot clock in a pickup game. I do however appreciate that it was simply an over-exaggeration purposely set up to make a point and be humorous. I chuckled at the 3 second call. Didn't laugh at the backcourt call, and was ready to click 'x' after the 24 second call.

What about "football player playing basketball"? This guy should have replaced "Mr. Skins". the football guy always plays skins whether his team does or not. Loves to show off the upper body as he barrels to the basket hurting everyone in his way. His excuse??? Always the same - "I'm a football player, not really a basketball player." As if that somehow excuses his lack of athletic ability and excuses the imminent danger he provides to others on the court.

Whatever...

Jackpot!

If you haven't already, check out the video in the post below of the hermaphrodite bitching about Brittney Spears. Then watch this video. Who said people from Boston have no sense of humor?



Oh... and Derek Jeter is clearly god. Well, if he's not god, then god certainly wears a Derek Jeter jersey during baseball season.

DJ came into last night's game hitting .439 with 2 outs and runner's in scoring position. Decent numbers. Can't get much better than that, right???

Wrong.

8th inning. 2 outs. Yanks vs. Boston in Fenway. Game tied at 1 after a great pitching duel between Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. Joba had just done his thing blowing away Boston in the bottom of the 7th to keep a tie game going. Detroit has crept to within 2 games in the wildcard with a victory over the Twins earlier in the day. 2-2 count. Men on 2nd and 3rd after a clutch double off the monster by pinch hitting Giambi.

Pretty clutch scenario for a guy to get a hit. Figure Jeter will try to poke one through the other way and give the Yanks a nice little one or two run lead.

Nah.

BAM!

3 run homer. Yanks end up winning 4-3.

Not to turn this into a Jeter gay fest, though I've stated in the past, I'm not sure if it counts as gay to have a man-crush on Derek Jeter... I love this commercial. I know it's simple and quick, but I just think it is cool.



OK fine, we WILL turn it into Derek Jeter day. Brace yourselves. Welcome to the dark side young jedi knight.




He's funny too...


OK, not so funny...

The only way Britney Spears will make it onto my blog now that she has hit the wall...

I'm not sure if this is a man or a woman. Can't really tell. Probably was one and now is the other, though not sure which way.

Regardless, this is such a great clip.




Oh lord, I think it might be a man... wow...

Yankee fans are even scarier

Sorry about the Yankee theme today, but these are priceless.

John Sterling is scary too

This gets funnier everytime you watch it...

Suzyn Waldman is scary

Suzyn Waldman reacts to Roger Clemens coming back to the Yanks earlier this year.

The Jeter Hall of Fame Argument

I was talking with some people recently regarding Derek Jeter and his greatness. Unfortunately, there are a number of Met fans out there who seem to think the captain is overrated. My answer is always to watch the guy everyday and then make an argument. I generally do not argue numbers – but that is because I didn’t realize how good Jeter’s numbers actually are.

One friend commented that in order to be a great player, one needs to either hit .350 or hit 50 homers. My first thought was, “that’s ridiculous, it doesn’t take into account position, or situational hitting, or a combination of average and power of some kind.” My second thought was to look up some numbers, which is what I did below. Turns out, according to this friend, there are a lot of average players in the Hall of Fame:

Here are some of Jeter’s numbers for comparison:
Derek Jeter –
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.317 1816 7346 1365 2328 192 922 262 .461
Fielding Pct. .975

Here are some horrible Hall of Fame shortstops to compare Jeter to slightly… just a start…


Pee Wee Reese – AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.269 2166 8058 1338 2170 126 885 232 .377
Fielding Pct - .962
He sucked, right? .269 and 126 homers??? Fielding percentage makes him look like he played for the Drays. Terrible player…


Cal Ripken, Jr. – another terrible player… So he played a ridiculous amount of games in a row… big whoop… wanna fight about it?

AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.276 3001 11551 1647 3184 431 1695 36 .447
Fielding Pct. - .977


Phil Rizzuto – awful… how is this guy even in the Hall??? Jesus… disgraceful. Holy cow! These numbers suck.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.273 1661 5816 878 1588 38 562 149 .355
Fielding Pct. .968


Honus Wagner – only hit .329 for his career, not .350… guess he sucks… Plus only 101 homers. No power here at all. This guy was so bad, they didn’t even keep records of his RBI’s. Probably a negative number or something based on that fielding percentage.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.329 2787 10427 1740 3430 101 722 .469
Fielding Pct. .947


Robin Yount – this guy should be in the hall of shame… I don’t even know how he goes out in public.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.285 2856 11008 1632 3142 251 1406 271 .430
Fielding Pct. .972


Luis Aparicio – who??? Numbers like this shouldn’t even make the majors…
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.262 2599 10230 1335 2677 83 791 506 .343
Fielding Pct. .972


Ozzie Smith – Now we all know he got in for his defense… but .978 is not that much better than the very average Derek Jeter’s .975 fielding pct. I guess his offensive numbers just bump him up big time as a star. Those 28 homers and 2460 hits are really impressive. When you hit for power like that, .262 average is totally justifiable, especially when you are a better fielder .3% of the time then a guy who hits over 70 percentage points better than you and will finish with almost 200 more homers and 1000 more hits. Totally justifiable.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.262 2573 9396 1257 2460 28 793 580 .328
Fielding Pct. .978


Arky Vaughan – This guy is a hall of famer with almost as good numbers as Jeter has… almost…
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.318 1817 6622 1173 2103 96 926 118 .453
Fielding Pct. .953


Let’s move onto some more names, not just shortstops, who suck something awful…

Here’s a nice one. Apparently Wade Boggs was not a good hitter…

Wade Boggs – not sure what all the hype was about. He hit only 10 percentage points higher than Jeter and probably about 150 homers less once career is done. Nebach.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.328 2440 9180 1513 3010 137 1014 24 .449
Fielding Pct. .965


I am going to pause here and thank you – because every time I do this, I start to see more and more how amazing Jeter is… even just by the numbers,… it’s amazing what his numbers are across the boards… amazing…

Let’s keep it going. This is too easy.


George Brett – this guy was so bad he should not have even been allowed to keep his uniform after retiring. I mean .305 and 317??? Jeter is going to beat the average easily, and has a shot at the homers. Oh, and he steals more bases and will have a few hundred more hits… and is MUCH better looking.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.305 2707 10349 1583 3154 317 1596 201 .487
Fielding Pct. .970


Lou Brock – how this guy was an outfielder in the majors with these numbers is amazing to me…Clearly he was doing some sexual favors for the owner.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.293 2616 10332 1610 3023 149 900 938 .410
Fielding Pct. .959


Rod Carew – they say he is one of the best hitters of all time – not sure who “they” are, but “they” are clearly retarded. My man Dan says .328 aint even a good season. At least he was a solid fielder.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.328 2469 9315 1424 3053 92 1015 353 .429
Fielding Pct. .985


Roberto Clemente – I know he is dead and its not nice.. but this guy was terrible. Probably got in because of Affirmative Action or something.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.317 2433 9454 1416 3000 240 1305 83 .475


Lou Gherig – FINALLY found someone who comes close to living up to the standards of greatness… I think there might only be one or two other guys with numbers like this… even Dimag wasn’t close… but I finally found a very good player – a little low in the batting average department, and a few more homers would make him great… but he was close, no?
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.340 2164 8001 1888 2721 493 1995 102 .632


Hank Greenberg – this guy was good…but only for a jew…he would never have gotten in otherwise.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.313 1394 5193 1051 1628 331 1276 58 .605


Ralph Kiner – I might start the petition to have this guy removed… Ralph who???
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.279 1472 5205 971 1451 369 1015 22 .548


Brooks Robinson – they just let anybody in there I guess… they mustve thought he was black or something and needed to make quota…
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.267 2896 10654 1232 2848 268 1357 28 .401



Fielding Pct. .971

OK – I have to get ready to go watch 2 of the greatest baseball players to ever play as I head over to Yankee Stadium… There are tons more Hall of Famers that we can throw under the bus later if you still need.

Don’t forget – these guys are some of the greatest players to ever live. They are all in the Hall of Fame. Very few of them have comparable numbers to Jeter…
Don’t give me the “today’s era” argument because I can provide a stat that shows that using that number makes Jeter look even better… so stay away from that. Also, if you are a sabermetrics fan, which I wouldn’t claim to know enough about, I went and looked up Jeter based on some of those stats – if you are a Jeter-hater, don’t go look because it might make you nauseous or suicidal. His numbers compared to league average, past league averages and all other kinds of combinations are phenomenal. Especially for an overrated, average player.

One more for you…

Jackie Robinson – obviously he got in because he broke the color barrier… numbers like this,… please.
AVG G AB R H HR RBI SB SLG
.311 1382 4877 947 1518 137 734 197 .474
Fielding Pct. .983

Last note – I’m not going to give you Ted Williams or Babe Ruth’s numbers – they are too freakin’ ridiculous. Look ‘em up – they’re worth seeing. Will make you laugh how amazing they were. Lou Gherig’s numbers I provided above. Disgraceful.