Explaining the Downturn in the Quality of Life: One Viewpoint

This article does a partial job in explaining the downturn in the American standard of living over the last thirty years, but it omits the horrendous consequences of the vast expansion of American corporations and the cost that has had on small businesses, competition, and the flight of capital from communities, among other factors.

http://www.alternet.org/story/66639/?page=entire

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NFL Picks for Week Nine, 4-5 November

Here are the picks for the NFL games in Week Nine, Sunday 4 November and Monday 5 November:

Sunday 4 November

WASH (4-3) @ NYJ (1-7): Redskins (-4 1/2) 23, Jets 13
GB (6-1) @ KC (4-3): Chiefs (-1) 20, Packers 19
ARIZ (3-4) @ TB (4-4): Cardinals (+4) 26, Buccaneers 23 UPSET
CAR (4-3) @ TENN (5-2): Titans 27, Panthers 17
SF (2-5) @ ATL (1-6): FortyNiners (+3) 17, Falcons 13 UPSET
JAX (5-2) @ NORL (3-4): Jaguars (+3 1/2) 23, Saints 20
DEN (3-4) @ DET (5-2): Lions (-3) 34, Broncos 27
CINC (2-5) @ BUF (3-4): Bills (+1 1/2) 26, Bengals 20 UPSET
SD (4-3) @ MINN (2-5): Chargers (-7 1/2) 37, Vikings 13
SEA (4-3) @ CLE (4-3): Browns (-1 1/2) 19, Seahawks 16
NENG (8-0) @ IND (7-0): Colts 27, Patriots 24
HTN (3-5) @ OAK (2-5): Texans (+3) 29, Raiders 23 UPSET
DAL (6-1) @ PHIL (3-4): Eagles (+3) 31, Cocaineboys 26 UPSET

Monday 5 September

BALT (4-3) @ PGH (5-2): Steelers (-9) 20, Ravens 10

IDLE: MIA STL CHI NYG

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The FAIR Tax: An Alternative to the Income Tax

It will be interesting to see if an idea like this can get off the ground in Congress in 2009. It is quite obvious the current income tax system in broken and biased against certain demographics in our nation. The big question is will this proposal be able to generate like revenues for the federal government as the current system does. Another question is what effect a change in tax systems will have on the demand for middle and high end consumer goods. Only Huckabee of Arkansas among the current candidates for the presidency has endorsed this proposal. Something certainly must be done to address the failure of the current income tax system and that proposal must be politically and economically palatable to a majority of lawmakers, policy analysts, and the next presidential administration. This may be the best hope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_tax

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American Nuclear Attack on Syria in September ?

Until investigative journalism does some digging and research, the truth behind what happened in the Syrian desert in September will remain a mystery. It is shocking to contemplate that American military forces deployed a nuclear weapon on foreign soil and the American public is being totally kept in the dark about an action of this magnitude.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380718519&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Paul Tibbets, 1915-2007

Paul Tibbets was the heroic pilot of the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945, effectively ending World War II. Had the powers to be not elected to take this military action or if we had been unable to create this technological weapon, there is total certainty that I and my siblings would have never come to existence and the world would have turned out to be much different place these last 62 + years. General Tibbets was a living legend and true American hero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tibbets

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-tibbets2nov02,1,4842065,full.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=2&cset=true

http://www.theenolagay.com/

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College Football Picks for Week Ten, 1-4 November

Here is my picks for 49 of the games being played between Thursday 1 November and Sunday 4 November in college football. Only four weekends left after this one is completed. (home teams in bold)

Thursday 1 November

#11 Virginia Tech (+1 1/2) 24, Georgia Tech 20 UPSET + +

Friday 2 November

Nevada (-7 1/2) 45, New Mexico St 28 + X

Saturday 3 November

# 1 Ohio St (-15) 31, #21 Wisconsin 10 + +
# 2 Boston College (-7 1/2) 24, Florida St 20 X +
#17 Alabama (+7) 29, # 3 Louisiana St 27 UPSET X +
# 5 Oregon (-7 1/2) 27, # 4 Arizona St 24 + X
# 6 Oklahoma (-22) 44, Texas A&M 20 + +
# 7 West Virginia: IDLE
# 8 Kansas (-19) 27, Nebraska 13 + X
# 9 Missouri (-4 1/2) 27, Colorado 16 + +
#10 Georgia (-16) 27, Troy St 20 + +
#12 Michigan (-6) 20, Michigan St 16 + +
#13 Connecticut (-2) 23, Rutgers 20 + +
#14 Hawaii: IDLE
Oklahoma St (+3) 27, #15 Texas 23 UPSET X +
#16 Auburn (-39) 45, Tennessee Tech 7 + +
#18 South Florida (-6) 20, Cincinnati 17 X +
#19 Southern Cal (-14 1/2) 31, Oregon St 22 + X
#20 Florida (-14 1/2) 30, Vanderbilt 13 + +
#22 Boise St (-27) 48, San Jose St 20 + +
#23 Virginia (even) 27, #24 Wake Forest 24 + +
#25 Clemson (-17) 39, Duke 13 + +

Wyoming (-4) 30, San Diego St 23 X X
Brigham Young (-21) 41, Colorado St 17 + X
Air Force (-16 1/2) 37, Army 17 + +
New Mexico (+3 1/2) 31, Texas Christian 27 UPSET X X

Indiana (-6 1/2) 31, Ball St 17 + +
Northwestern (-1) 24, Iowa 22 X X
Miami FL (-11 1/2) 34, North Carolina St 16 X X
Pittsburgh (-13) 33, Syracuse 17 + X
Kansas St (-19) 45, Iowa St 13 X X
East Carolina (-6) 29, Memphis 22 + +
Penn St (-7) 23, Purdue 20 + +
Navy (+4) 26, Notre Dame 25 UPSET + +
Texas-El Paso (-7 1/2) 32, Rice 27 X +
Arkansas St (-17 1/2) 22, Florida Int'l 13 + +
Arizona (+2) 24, UCLA 21 UPSET + +
Central Florida (-14) 39, Marshall 10 + +
Texas Tech (-21 1/2) 47, Baylor 23 + +
Tennessee (-28) 58, Louisiana-Lafayette 13 + +
Maryland (+2) 13, North Carolina 10 UPSET X X
Fresno St (-20 1/2) 54 , Utah St 23 + X
Idaho (+3 1/2) 20, Louisiana Tech 17 UPSET X X
Washington (-3) 34, Stanford 27 + +
Southern Miss (-11) 36, Alabama-Birmingham 17 + +
Middle Tennessee St (-5) 32, Louisiana-Monroe 27 + +
Tulsa (-6 1/2) 27, Tulane 17 + +
Illinois (-13) 44, Minnesota 20 + +
South Carolina (+4) 28, Arkansas 24 UPSET X X
California (-14 1/2) 35, Washington St 23 + +

Sunday 4 November

Houston (-19) 38, Southern Methodist 17 + X

36-13/33-16/3-6

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Sunday 28 October News Articles and Observations

Here are some recent news articles from around Sunday 28 October and my brief observations on them.

A. Just Like Financial Scandals of the Near and Distant Past

Most financial scandals and downturns that have occured in the history of our nations and many others are due to chicanary and corruption on the part of insiders and wealthy cretons trying to score a big financial coup. Most of the time they get off completely or relatively easy for their stark criminal acts and behaviors, leaving the consumers and taxpayers to pay the price and take the blows. The ongoing and worsening housing mortgage crisis and downturn are just another example of this.

http://www.alternet.org/story/65037/?page=entire

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/26/4820/

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B. The Federally Elected Official Who is the Biggest Crook

The stench of the neverending flatulence of the corruption being spewed by senior Kentucky US Senator and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is so obvious and apparent. Hopefully intelligence and justice will win out and this hoodlum will be ousted in November '08.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/66322/#more

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C. The End is Near For Many Primates

These 25 species will disappear from the wild within the next two decades and the only place they will still exist will be in zoos and in private collections.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/oct/26/endangered

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D. Was Wellstone the JFK of the Early 21st Century ?

Had Minnesota US Senator Paul Wellstone had not been killed in a plane crash in 2002, it is highly probable he would have a top contender for the US Presidency in 2008. He had an extraordinary vision of how to take America into the second decade of this century.

http://www.timberjay.com/current.php?article=3804

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E. Visible Results of the Dieoff of Honeybees

Genetic manipulation of these creatures may be the cause of their widespread demise in many places across North America.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/28/4858/

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F. Dodging the Bullet so Far on Oil Price Increases

Unfortunately, we will not for much longer. How high will it go ? Lets hope for a mild winter, particularly in the Northeast, so usage of home heating oil doesn't drive the price even higher.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/26/news/economy/gas_oil/index.htm?cnn=yes

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP21758220071026?sp=true

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G. Many if not Most Foreign Made Goods Being Made Sometimes by Children

There is little doubt this travesty and immorality is more widespread than we think and is being cleverly and astonishingly covered up by American and other multinational corporations all in the name of profit and greed.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2200590,00.html

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H. Water Woes Growing Nationally

The problem is only worsening in places like the Southeastern US where it was largely unimaginable less than a decade ago. Will Atlanta have to become like Tucson and ban lawns of green grass ?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071026/ap_on_re_us/vanishing_water;_ylt=AtNVZ2YEHkjAN7wCbP25p.Ws0NUE

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Redsox Best the Rockies in Four

It was a letdown after the long exciting run, but the Colorado Rockies had their season end on a somewhat negative note as the Boston Redsox took the World Series for 2007.

This was by far the most exciting season for the Rockies, particularly the last two weeks of the regular season, the play-in game with San Diego (which I was so fortunate to attend and really enjoy along with my brother), the NLDS, and the NLCS. We got to see a lot of young guys get better and come together as a team.

The best is yet to come for this young and exciting club. I, like many other baseball fans, look forward to the '08 season.

Pitchers and Catchers Report in less than 11o days !

Happy Birthday to Mom

Here's wishing a Happy Birthday to my Mom, the greatest and most influential person ever in my life.

My Week in Review: 21-27 October

Another week, another story of the daily life of an aging boring old white guy.


Sunday 21 October: Awoke around 9:15am and looked out the window to see that a light dusting of snow had occurred overnight. Got ready for work and headed over to King Soopers to get my newspapers and some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Worked 11-6 as the day was not too busy and free of any noteworthy occurences. I got home just in time to watch the start of Game 7 of the Cle/Bsn ALCS; also kept tabs on the Den/Pgh SNF game. Read my papers more fully, did the sudoku, and ate butter bread for dinner. It was a cold day although the sun did break through by midafternoon. I do not think it got to 40 degrees and there was a cold NW wind blowing to chill one's bones deeply. I think we only got about 2-3" of snow which mostly melted upon falling. I had to use the wipers to plow what little did stick off the windshield when I started out today. By the time I left work, one could not even tell that it had snowed earlier in the day. The official NWS total was 1.2". Watched a little more TV while re-reading my Sunday papers and went to bed around 12:30am.


Monday 22 October: A day off from work. Got up around 11 after staying under the covers for about an hour or so on the cold crisp morning. Ate some cereal for breakfast. Surfed and tried to stay on top of Rockies tickets fiasco. Headed out around 1:30 and went Barnes & Noble and read and browsed for about an hour. Then I went over to BK and had a couple of sandwiches; read the Rocky, USA, and Cheyenne papers; and did all the puzzles while listening to Irv & Joe on the Fan. I've been listening to those guys since I moved to this area 19 years ago and heard about their radio sports talk show. They are always informative, entertaining, and opinionated which is why they are the best at what they do in this area and have been on the air for over 25 years. Today ended up being a warmer sunny day with wind as it got near 50 degrees after a morning low around 23. I went home around 4:45 and caught the evening news. Halfheartedly watched MNF in the first half and then a little more closely in the second half. Puttered around the place doing some odd things throughout the evening. Turned to Nightline to hear the latest on the fires in Southern Cal as both Leno and Letterman were repeats. Started watching Forest Gump at 11am and surfed a little more while I watched. Went to bed around 1am.


Tuesday 23 October: Another day off from work; consecutive weekdays is always nice. I slept in until around 10am. I then had cereal for breakfast. I did nothing away from the place. It was a warm sunny windy day with temps around 60 degrees. I spent about an hour plus in the garage going through the remaining boxes to see what I still need to bring up. I found a fair amount of stuff and also organized some boxes in a limited way. I still need to rebox some aging boxes and go through some others and discard some things that I no longer want or need. I figure I have about three to four hours of work in the garage still so it will keep me busy in the coming weeks on my day off. Hopefully I can have it done completely before the end of November. I still have yet to find any of my wall tapestries and its quite bewildering where they are. I still need to finish hanging pictures in the apartment and finish organizing my desk and office. So I have some activities to keep at in the coming weeks. I talked to Matt and we lamented the inability to get tickets to the World Series and discussed coming down when the Rockies close in on the championship. Later I more fully repaired my broken end table, fixed the screenguard to one of my speakers and hooked up an antenna to my bedroom receiver. I watched on and off the Avalanche-Oilers game and the ABC news special on the Southern Cal fires that pre-empted Boston Legal. Dinner consisted of canned ravioli which tasted great as I had no lunch. I took a nice long hot shower that was relaxing and went to bed around 11:45.



Wednesday 24 October: Back to work for the eight hour day. A surprisingly sunny warm day as we got into the mid 70s and tied a record. Had peas and Lipton noodles stroganoff for dinner. Watched Game One of the World Series, but Boston scored early and often and turned it into a rout. I fell asleep watching it in fourth inning or so and didn't wake up until the eighth. Surfed and zapped awhile before going to bed around 11pm



Thursday 25 October: Another record setting warm sunny day as we got to 76 degrees which is about 20 degrees above normal. I worked again all day and got home to watch Game Two which turned out to be much better and closer as the Redsox edged the Rockies 2-1 to take the 2-0 series lead. Kept tabs on Air Force-New Mexico and Boston College-Virginia Tech. I had Lipton chicken broccoli noodles and carrots for dinner. Later, I made myself some butterscotch pudding. Went to bed around 11pm.



Friday 26 October: Back to work again for the eight hour day. Weather changed to a cool cloudy day with temps never getting past 40 degrees and no sun all day. When I got home, I had some cream of mushroom soup and some grilled cheese sandwiches. Watched the Avalanche-Flames game and caught the episode of Ghost Whisperer. Kept tabs on Boise St-Fresno St. Went to bed around 11pm as all this week there were repeats of both Letterman and Leno.



Saturday 27 October: A day off from work (or so I thought) so I slept in until around 9:45. Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal. It was a cloudy cold day but we did get some dim sunshine through the clouds late in the afternoon but it never got much above 50 degrees. Got called into work and worked from noon until 5pm. I went next store to watch game three of the World Series and some college football at the sports bar "Shadows". I had a bowl of minestrone soup and a mushroom cheeseburger while watching. Hit the hay around midnight.

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College Football Picks for Week Nine, 25-28 October

Here are my picks for the upcoming college football games for week eight from Thursday 25 October through Sunday 28 October. (home teams in bold)

Thursday 25 October

#2 Boston College (+3) 23, #8 Virginia Tech 17 UPSET + +
New Mexico (-6) 31, Air Force 24 + +

Friday 26 October

Boise St (-3) 38, Fresno St 34 + +

Saturday 27 October

#25 Penn St (+4 1/2) 24, #1 Ohio St 22 UPSET X X
#3 Louisiana St: IDLE
#4 Arizona St (-3) 27, #23 California 23 + +
#5 Oregon (-2 1/2) 30, #12 Southern Cal 26 + +
#6 Oklahoma: IDLE
#7 West Virginia (-6 1/2) 27, Rutgers 21 + X
#9 Kansas (-3 1/2) 24, Texas A&M 17 + +
#10 South Florida (-6) 20, #23 Connecticut 16 X +
#11 Florida (-7 1/2) 29, Georgia 17 (@JACKSONVILLE) X X
#13 Missouri (-29) 45, Iowa St 13 + +
#14 Kentucky (-14) 33, Mississippi St 20 X +
#15 Virginia (-4 1/2) 32, North Carolina St 22 X X
#16 South Carolina (-2 1/2) 20, Tennessee 13 X X
#17 Hawaii (-30) 56, New Mexico St 24 + +
#19 Texas (-21) 36, Nebraska 27 + +
#20 Michigan (-23) 48, Minnesota 13 + +
#22 Auburn (-17 1/2) 38, Mississippi 13 + X
#24 Alabama: IDLE
Wyoming (-10) 27, Nevada-Las Vegas 17 + +
Utah (-6 1/2) 31, Colorado St 20 + +
Wisconsin (-9 1/2) 28, Indiana 13 + +
Purdue (-14) 37, Northwestern 16 + +
Wake Forest (-6) 27, North Carolina 10 + +
Louisville (-10) 34, Pittsburgh 26 + +
Illinois (-14) 38, Ball St 10 + X
Texas Tech (-13 1/2) 29, Colorado 13 X X
Michigan St (-4) 23, Iowa 10 X X
Vanderbilt (-14) 24, Miami OH 20 + +
Arkansas (-41) 49, Florida Int'l 7 + +
Tulsa (-14 1/2) 33, Southern Methodist 20 + +
Tulane (-2 1/2) 16, Memphis 13 X X
Utah St (-2 1/2) 34, Louisiana Tech 31 X X
Washington (-3 1/2) 28, Arizona 23 X X
Kansas St (-26) 44, Baylor 16 + +
East Carolina (-15) 30, Alabama-Birmingham 13 + +
Maryland (+4 1/2) 24, Clemson 20 UPSET X X
Nevada (-18) 38, Idaho 17 + X
Florida Atlantic (-6 1/2) 23, Louisiana-Monroe 20 X +
Marshall (-9) 26, Rice 14 + +
Oregon St (-14) 35, Stanford 16 + +
Washington St (+6) 24, UCLA 23 UPSET + +
Troy St (-6) 33, Arkansas St 22 + +
Middle Tennessee St (-10) 27, North Texas 10 ++
Florida St (-17 1/2) 28, Duke 7 + +
Texas-El Paso (+6 1/2) 27, Houston 24 UPSET X +

Sunday 28 October

Southern Mississippi (-3) 34, Central Florida 24

31-14/31-14/1-3

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NFL Picks for Week Eight, 28-29 October

Here are the picks for the NFL games being played on Sunday 28 October and Monday 29 October. (home teams in bold print)

Sunday 28 October

CLE (3-3) @ STL(0-7): Browns (-4) 34, Rams 23
DET(4-2) @ CHI(3-4): Bears (-5 1/2) 27, Lions 20
IND(6-0) @ CAR (4-2): Colts (-7 1/2) 26, Panthers 13
NYG (5-2) v MIA (07) @ London, UK: Ginats (-10 1/2) 37, Dolphins 17
OAK ( 2-4) @ TENN (4-2): Titans (-7) 27, Raiders 16
PHIL (2-4) @ MINN (2-4): Vikings (+1) 20, Eagles 16 UPSET
PGH (4-2) @ CINC (2-4): Steelers (-4 1/2) 44, Bengals 26
BUF (2-4) @ NYJ (1-6): Jets (-3) 17, Bills 16
HTN (3-4) @ SD (3-3): Chargers (-9) 33, Texans 20
JAX (4-2) @ TB (4-3): Buccaneers (-3 1/2) 20, Jaguars 10
NORL (2-4) @ SF (2-4): Saints (-3) 32, FortyNiners 16
WASH (4-2) @ NENG (7-0): Patriots (-16 1/2) 33, Redskins 10

Monday 29 October

GB (5-1) @ DEN (3-3): Broncos (-3) 34, Packers 27

IDLE: KC ARIZ SEA BALT ATL DAL

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Attempt to Get World Series Tickets Fails

We gave it a shot, but came up short. With millions and millions of people trying to get but 60,000 or less tickets for the three World Series games to be played in Denver, the odds were very slim that we could score some tickets. Thus, we will be watching the games on television like most everybody else, but a road trip to downtown Denver may occur if the Rockies are on the eve of winning it all on either Sunday 28 October or Monday 29 October. We will just have to see what happens...

GO ROCKIES !!!!

BRING HOME THE WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!

BEAT THE BEANTOWNERS !!!!

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2008: Doomsday for the Republican Party

The general elections are now but about a year away, and with each passing week, the news gets more bad for Republicans. I can now see the US Senate with over 60 Democrats and the US House with around 280 Democrats, perhaps even near 300. This upcoming election is shaping up as the greatest sea change politically this nation has seen since the FDR election in 1932.

http://www.airamerica.com/node/5514

The Consequences of Being PAST the Tipping Point

Many observers, including yours truly, are convinced that the global climate change crisis is now clearly here and that we now past the "tipping point", the moment when any actions by mankind can stop the inevitable and fast changing pace of climate change and the resulting catastrophies, cataclysms, and disasters. Each summer from now into the foreseeable future, ice will continue to melt and disappear from the Arctic region, including Greenland, to the point the region will be ice free on the sea in 15 years or less; and of more alarming concern, the collapse into the ocean of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf, a mass of ice bigger than Alaska, is likely to occur within the decade. These actions will cause a rise in sea level that will significantly make an impact on untold millions and the global economy, along with resulting in rapid and sudden climatic changes that will be nothing short of shocking.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102100761.html?nav=hcmodule

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Long Ago and Far Away...A Moment Back in Time

Reading this article brings back memories from an autumn 25 years ago. It seems such a long, long time ago. I was living in a house on Palo Duro Street in NE Albuquerque with my younger brother and a co-worker of his. We were young, free, and carefree. Barely surviving and living on the edge. Just going to work, watching football (although the NFL was on strike for two months), and drinking a lot of beer (funny-I am still doing two of those three things these days--but extremely rarely even drinking a beer). Parties every weekend with friends and visitors over to live it up. I still have the 27" Curtis Mathes console TV that was half the entertainment system along with my Technics stereo system. We listened to most of our good, now classic, rock on primarily LPs and sometimes cassettes. No CDs, cell phones, satellite TV or radio, computers and the internet, digital recordings and music players -- technology was much simpler. The Milwaukee Brewers gave the St Louis Cardinals an entertaining all-out full battle for the seven games of the World Series.

I went to a Lobos football game against Utah that autumn and, although the stadium was only about half full, the crowd was appreciative. It was a Lobo basketball town inclusively back then, and its nice to see the football team finally come of age in recent years and become the top draw in Albq as the hoops program has stagnated, underachieved, and been uninspiring for many years now. But the university and community is seriously dropping the ball in not taking the time to honor these athletes for their yet unmatched accomplishments after all these years.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/23/teamwork-coaching-helped-1982-lobos-become-greates/

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Baseball's Greatest Miracles: One Man's Opinion

Rob Neyer is a respected ballball writer and historian. His article here is weighted with too many recent occurences but it is still a great read. The list is about team accomplishments and should not have included Joe Dimaggio and his fantastic individual accomplishment or the Kirk Gibson home run. If the Colorado Rockies take the Series, might their story be considered the greatest miracle in baseball history ?

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2007/insider/columns/story?columnist=neyer_rob&id=3070306&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fplayoffs2007%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dneyer_rob%26id%3d3070306

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Vote Yes on All NIne Denver Bond Issues

An important election occurs on or before 6 November in the city of Denver on nine important bond issues essential for maintenance and improvements of the city's infrastructure. Having been a recent Denver resident and employed in varying lines of work that allowed me to personally see virtually all of the city and its infrastructure, I clearly am aware of the needs existing and what is in poor condition and ill-repair. Some of the issues deal with quality of life issues and as Denver is the premier city of the time zone and region, it is essential to maintain and make improvements on the important cultural and educational facilities that help make this city the special place it is. If you are voting, please vote yes on all nine ballot bond issues. You will be voting to make Denver a better and more beautiful place to live, work, and play.

http://www.betterdenver.org/

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Hopes of Online World Series Tickets Sales Crash

UPDATE: @9:15pm Mon 10/22: The Colorado Rockies have announced ticket sales will resume at 12noon MDT on TUE 10/23 online.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/mlb/article/0,2777,DRMN_23924_5728937,00.html

MLB confidently and foolishly boasted that its ability to process ticket orders online was completely immune to any volume of traffic, but that turned out to be a pipe dream. Virtually nobody was able to buy tickets that went on sale at 10am MDT for the upcoming three home games in the World Series for the Colorado Rockies. I was among one of those hoping to get a ticket for Sunday 28 October's Game Four, but I knew it would be a longshot and with the spectacular failure of the online technology, the chances appear even more grim and impossible.

When the announcement is made later Monday evening, my friend and operative will make an attempt again to secure tickets, but securing the four tickets we are seeking will probably be akin to winning the lottery, which by the way is the method that should have been used to manage this process that has turned out to be an unmitigated boondoggle.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/mlb/article/0,2777,DRMN_23924_5728556,00.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5728180,00.html

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Its the Redsox Against the Rockies in the World Series

The Boston Redsox completed a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS as they defeated the Cleveland Indians 11-2 at Fenway Park to win the best of seven series 4 games to 3. The game was close throughout until the Redsox blew it open in the last few innings.

So the matchup for this year's World Series is set. The upstart Colorado Rockies will travel to Boston for games one and two to be played on Wednesday 24 October and Thursday 24 October with games 3-5 in Denver on October 25-26-27 before going back to Boston if necessary for games 6 and 7 to be played on Wednesday 31 October and Thursday 1 November.

Gametimes will generally be around 6:20pm MDT with the broadcasts on FOX and ESPN radio and throughout the Mountain Time Zone on the Rockies Radio Network which has outlets in most places with any kind of population.

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