Home Run Derby

So I opened my mail last night … and there he was.

Bucky Dent.  Or if you’re from Red Sox Nation, Bucky F-ing Dent.

Well, at least a three and a half inch cardboard facsimile of him in near-Mint condition.

This is cool.  I like it.  But wait … WTF?

Dent showed up in a plain white envelope addressed with a computer-generated label … but no return address.  Postmarked from New York City on June 25th.  

Hmmmm.  NYC?  My first thought was that I had cheesed off some Yankee fan (who thought I was a Red Sox fan) in some post or another.  But that couldn’t be.  Because I haven’t written anything about the Yanks in a while – heck I haven’t posted at all in two weeks.  And besides, pissed off blog readers voice their displeasure immediately in the comments section – not via envelopes with mail-merged labels.

I bet other bloggers had Bucky Dent in their mailbox.  It had to be a publicity stunt.

I was right.

• Purple Row and Bronx Banter and Was Watching got a Dent card.  
• Dave Pinto at Baseball Musings and Rich Lederer at Baseball Analysts got George Scott cards.
• Will Carroll of ESPN got a Steve Swisher card. 
• Craig Calcaterra at Shysterball also got a Dent card … and led the charge to find out who else got them and who sent them.
  And to his credit – he figured it out.

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I’ll be on The Sports Fix on ESPN Sports Radio AM900/AM 1230 in Gainesville around 5PM Eastern this afternoon, talking Baseball Cheerleaders, and goofy World Series stuff with Adam Reardon and (possibly) University of Florida football legend Chris Doering.

So if you’re interested in hearing me jabber about nothing … here’s your chance.

Click Listen Live at http://www.thesportsfixradio.com

Or just try this.

It was Alyssa Milano’s 35th Birthday yesterday!

And Home Run Derby’s present to Alysa was a First Round Win in Busted Coverage’s Best Sports Blog Tournament !!

Alyssa’s going to celebrate Home Run Derby’s first round victory (408-287) by getting a little bit closer to wearing her birthday suit …

… just as we promised …

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Well, the fine upstanding blog Busted Coverage has gone out and put together a 2007 Best Sports Blog Tournament with what they consider to be the top 64 Sports Blogs.

It’s no surprise that FanHouse, Deadspin, Awful Announcing, and The Big Lead are your top seeds. These guys bring it every day. They deserve the honors.

Now, for some reason (namely a decent BallHype rating) Home Run Derby has been included in this tournament. HRD is the #8 seed in the West Region, versus the blog known as You Been Blinded.

We are humbled.
We are honored.
We want to win.

So in a shameless beg for your vote … we’re gonna give this a go …
“Major League” style.

Remember in the movie “Major League” when the Cleveland Indians’ manager (Lou Brown) brought out the cardboard cutout of the owner (Rachel Phelps) and said “every time we win, we pull off a section” ?

Well, for every win Home Run Derby gets in the 2007 Best Sports Blog Tournament …

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Oh heck yeah.

Curtis Granderson is now my favorite Detroit Tiger. And considering I’ve never been a big fan of the Tigers, he has become my favorite Tiger ever.

Why?

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One of HomerDerby’s founding members, Martin, will be getting married this afternoon to the lovely Maureen. I worked with both Martin and Maureen in my time at Kraft Foods and really – who couldn’t see this coming?

Martin and Maureen, both fervent devotees of St. Patrick’s Day (as you can see below), will be blessing this fine day with their nuptials this afternoon. Let the Green Beer flow! A more festive St. Paddy’s Day there never was before and there shall likely never be again!

Martin has described himself “always the bridesmaid, never the Bride” in reference to his never having won the HomerDerby crown. Well guys, HomerDerby is only a game … there are bigger and better things to hang your kelly green derby on … like Life and Love.

And besides Martin, as a Cub fan, you know there’s always next year!

Please help me congratulate Martin and Maureen on their wedding and wish them the best in their life together!!

No, not HomerDerby Selection Sunday.  That’s on a Monday, anyway. 

Anyone looking for some Hot NCAA Tournament Bracket Action?  Join Nick The Greek’s NCAA bracket pool. 

Nick is one of the HomerDerby original nine and has run this bracket pool for eight years now and had over 100 entries last season.  Prizes go to the top seven (7) finishers and another prize goes to the entry with the most correct picks. 

The Brackets are hosted on Sportsline, so you’ll need a Sportsline Account.  The account is FREE, but the pool isn’t.  $10 to enter. 

The site is http://greek2003.mayhem.sportsline.com/e  The Password is… brackets 

Contact Nick (mouse over for email address) if you have any questions or issues or need an invite to join.  If you forgot your sportsline ID and password, Sportsline has a method for recovering each one. Go to http://www.sportsline.com/fantasy .