Realm of the Wombat

So Beaudry, Stache, Andy, and I were watching Game 7 of the ALCS when we realized that Red Sox nation had surrounded us. When we walked into the bar, I was prepared to marginally support Boston for the sole reason that blowing a 3-0 lead to the Sox would cause utter chaos in the Steinbrenner’s office. However, about 3 seconds into the game I decided I couldn’t do it. Instead, all I could cheer for was the agony of Red Sox nation. Apparently it’s trendy now to be a Boston fan. You don’t need to be from Boston or know anything about the Red Sox franchise. Consider this exchange as we were getting ready to leave:

Girl 1: Too bad you lost (with a smile on her face and Sox hat on her head).
Jer: I’m not a Yankees fan. Hey, who’s Bill Buckner?
Girl 1: Oh, I’m not a Red Sox fan. I’m just here with my friend.
Girl 2 (with a green Boston hat): Go Sox!
Jer: Do you know who Bill Buckner is?
Girl 2: We don’t watch football. We root for the Red Sox! (points at her hat)

Exactly.

Berkeley isn’t just uniquely decorated cars and working all hours of the night. It’s also great concerts. This is the third show I’ve seen at the Greek (Elvis Costello and the White Stripes were here last year), and it’s an awesome venue. The setlist:

1. BEGIN THE BEGIN
2. SO FAST, SO NUMB
3. DRIVE
4. ANIMAL
5. OUTSIDERS
6. WELCOME TO THE OCCUPATION
7. WANDERLUST
8. BAD DAY
9. ELECTROLITE
10. LEAVING NEW YORK
11. THESE DAYS
12. I WANTED TO BE WRONG
13. (DON’T GO BACK TO) ROCKVILLE
14. THE ONE I LOVE
15. FINAL STRAW
16. LOSING MY RELIGION
17. WALK UNAFRAID
18. LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT
——————————–
19. WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY, KENNETH?
20. CUYAHOGA
21. PERMANENT VACATION
22. I’M GONNA DJ
23. MAN ON THE MOON

Odie, Andy, Melissa, and I spotted this beauty at the Albany Waterfront Park, which is a strange enough place without a Berkeley car. It’s so detailed, I had to take several shots to give you the full effect of “Tocalo.” (Play it)

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I finally found the right car at the right price from the right person. 1998 Honda Accord. EX. Silver. 4-Cylinder. Ultra-low emmission vehicle, for what that’s worth. Sunroof. Oh, and alarm, so don’t even think of stealing it. I like it. If you live in a state that they serve, check out 21st Century for insurance. Thanks to ‘Stache for the heads up on that one.

I think this Civic is for some high schoolers’ senior year or something, but I don’t know what school has Waldwick’s baby blue color around here.

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I found this hippie-mobile just around the corner from my apartment. This truck is the first Berkeley car I’ve seen that used wood. The theme appears to be an extension of the house’s motif. I like that.

I finished another book this morning, The Numbers Game by Alan Schwartz. It’s the story of the evolution of baseball statistics from when runs and outs were the only stats recorded to the present where OPS isn’t accurate enough to rate players. He does a pretty good job of focusing on the people involved instead of only the statistics (there are enough places to go for that), and the most interesting part is that even from the beginning, people wanted better ways to analyze hitters than just batting average and better ways to analyze fielders than errors. The description of the modern stat companies dragged a bit since there are so many groups doing similar things and money is involved now. Anyway, a good read for the Moneyball crowd.

I thought Friday night would be the low point of my sports weekend, as I witnessed Mark Mulder continue his second half implosion, forcing the A’s to win Saturday and Sunday in order to make the playoffs. Notre Dame also had an opportunity to prove to the nation that the BYU debacle was a fluke. So much for that. Crunch time turned into chump time. ND couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities, and Purdue scored at will in the second half, dropping the Irish to 3-2, and the bottom of “others receiving votes.” After watching the ND disaster, Odie and I failed to find a bar in San Francisco that would show the critical A’s game. The solemn faces on the BART told us all we needed to know, as the bullpen blew a solid performance by Barry Zito, and ensuring that I won’t attend a post-season game for yet another year. My sports sanity now lies in the hands of Cal football (ESPN #7, at USC Oct. 11) and the Twins (AL Central champs, ALDS starts at NY Oct. 5).