Song of the Week XXXIV

This week, we have a new song to my collection, from Radiohead. The song comes off the highly regarded album OK Computer. It is the third track, entitled Subterranean Homesick Alien. The song has a soft, melodic feel covered by a nervousness in the lyrics about being away from home. It is a feeling expressed by many people who are in a strange place for the first time, or people who are stuck somewhere they'd rather not be. This is a very good song, on a masterpiece of an album. Check this column again next week.

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 21

This week marks the beginning of the playoffs in a select few leagues. Last week, many teams are feeling the pinch to reach the playoffs if the opportunity still presents itself. Here's the best players of last week's hurricane baseball:

Catcher: Matt Wieters, 5 runs, 6 hits, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .353 average, .476 on base
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, 8 runs, 11 hits, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .393 average, .452 on base
Second Base: Howie Kendrick, 9 runs, 10 hits, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, .500 average, .545 on base
Third Base: Mark Reynolds, 7 runs, 12 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .429 average, .448 on base
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, 6 runs, 9 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .409 average, .536 on base
Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez, 9 runs, 13 hits, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 SB, .481 average, .533 on base
Center Field: Matt Kemp, 8 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, .296 average, .321 on base
Right Field: Corey Hart, 9 runs, 13 hits, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .500 average, .552 on base
Starter: Chris Capuano, 9 IP, 1 win, 13 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.22 WHIP
Reliever: Francisco Cordero, 4 IP, 1 win, 3 saves, 3 K, 0 holds, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 20

Some second tier teams have probably locked up their bid to a playoff spot, while the last few teams fight for the remaining seeds. Here's who did well last week.

Catcher: Nick Hundley, 8 runs, 12 hits, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .520 on base
First Base: Joey Votto, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, .400 average, .556 on base
Second Base: Ben Zobrist, 4 runs, 11 hits, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB, .500 average, .520 on base
Third Base: Aramis Ramirez, 4 runs, 11 hits, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .556 on base
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .348 average, .385 on base
Outfield1: Peter Bourjos, 7 runs, 15 hits, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .500 average, .516 on base
Outfield2: Ryan Braun, 9 runs, 10 hits, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB, .400 average, .464 on base
Outfield3: Carlos Gonzalez, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, .364 average, .462 on base
Utility: Ryan Zimmerman, 5 runs, 12 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .500 on base
Starter: Jon Lester, 13 IP, 2 wins, 11 K, 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP
Reliever: Mariano Rivera, 3 IP, 3 saves, 5 K, 0 holds, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP

Good luck to everyone battling for a playoff position this week.

Sandwich Showdown XXXI

This week, we have a veteran against a rookie. The first sandwich was a Turkey on Italian. A rather simple sandwich enhanced with two sauces, it worked well with what it had. The bread helped keep the simplicity and also a nice variety of flavor. The opposing sandwich is the rookie Oven Crisp Chicken, currently featured for a limited time only. Also using two sauces, it turned out to be very flavorful. With toasted Herbs and Cheese bread, there was no lack of flavors. The edge here goes to the Turkey, but don't let that deter you from the Crisp Chicken, if it is available in your area.

Song of the Week XXXIII

This week, our song comes from Gavin Rossdale. The song is called This Is Happiness. The song is at a fairly fast-tempo to keep a good and strong rhythm. It possesses an aura of strength throughout, which in turn makes the message deeper. Throughout, it is mentioned what is positive to the singer, and ties into the title and theme of happiness. That's all for this week, and we'll run this again next week.

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 19

Another week of closing in on the playoffs. Here's the top players:

Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski, 1 run, 11 hits, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, .611 average, .600 on base
First Base: Ryan Howard, 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .400 average, .478 on base
Second Base: Dan Uggla, 6 runs, 10 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .435 average, .483 on base
Third Base: Edwin Encarnacion, 4 runs, 9 hits, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .450 average, .560 on base
Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, .323 average, .323 on base
Outfield1: Jay Bruce, 9 runs, 11 hits, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 0 SB, .440 average, .481 on base
Outfield2: Justin Upton, 8 runs, 13 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB, .481 average, .517 on base
Outfield3: Curtis Granderson, 7 runs, 6 hits, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .300 average, .364 on base
Outfield4: Matt Kemp, 7 runs, 10 hits, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB, .385 average, .407 on base
Starter: Cliff Lee, 8 IP, 1 win, 10 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
Reliever: Sergio Santos, 2.1 IP, 3 saves, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP

Song of the week XXXI and XXXII

Week 31: We have another hit from the band with likely the best timing, Augustana. This week, they bring in their song Feel Fine, an up-tempo but relaxing song. It comes from their first album, around the middle of the track listing. The theme is to relax and enjoy a good time. It is decent lyrically and an all-around good song.

Week 32: Classic rock band Queen provides the hit for this week. The song featured is One Vision. This song is in the same vein as a handful of other 80s World Peace themed songs. The idea in this tune is to have everyone come together and see eye to eye about the world. The song's intro has a warped kind of sound to it, but it evens out to a catchy guitar rift throughout the song, and a consistent rhythm.

Also, as a plug I'd like to make here, there is a game called Audiosurf that you can get online, and it is an absolutely fabulous game. The graphics are very crisp, but not high energy so it can function on older computers as well as new. The game's soundtrack is the music you own (DRM-free files only), which makes it fully customizable. There is a variety of different ways to play, depending on which character you choose, and three general difficulty levels. I've had it for two days and it's already been very addicting. Check it out.