Perhaps I'll pass on the wakeup call......

Mentzer College Football Rankings (Top 25) - After 12/03 Games

With the season finished and prior to the bowl games, here is the Mentzer Top 25. USC lost moving them down to 9th, and Notre Dame, who lost to USC moved in front of them. The fan favorite Penn State comes in at number 16 and the 4 teams they lost to are in the top 7. Boise State should be playing the Buckeyes for the National Championship, but the BCS struck and annointed Florida as the 2nd best team in the nation. If Ohio State wins, they will have beaten the #2 ranked team in the nation 3 times this season, Texas at the beginning of the year, and Michigan and Florida at the end of the year. I'll post my picks to the Bowl Games later based on my rankings.

Rank	Team	Percentile
1	Ohio State	1.0000
2	Boise State	1.0000
3	Michigan	0.9926
4	Wisconsin	0.9829
5	Florida	0.9700
6	Louisville	0.9683
7	Notre Dame	0.9607
8	LSU	0.9429
9	USC	0.9359
10	Auburn	0.9245
11	Arkansas	0.9208
12	Rutgers	0.9111
13	Tennessee	0.9102
14	Oklahoma	0.9093
15	West Virginia	0.9042
16	Penn State	0.9000
17	Wake Forest	0.8932
18	TCU	0.8726
19	California	0.8600
20	Virginia Tech	0.8571
21	Texas	0.8528
22	Texas A&M	0.8494
23	Oregon State	0.8485
24	Nebraska	0.8243
25	Hawaii	0.8144

Progress?

Today, we let the gals play.

Mentzer College Football Rankings (Top 25) - After 11/18 Games

Rankings after The Big Game and all others that occurred this past saturday. The beloved Nittany Lions climbed 3 spots for beating Michigan State, and the 4 teams that beat Penn State are in the top 5. Ohio State took over the top spot followed by Boise State and Michigan. Rutgers dropped 10 spots to number 13.

1. Ohio State 1.000
2. Boise State 1.000
3. Michigan 0.992
4. Wisconsin 0.982
5. Notre Dame 0.982
6. West Virginia 0.972
7. Arkansas 0.970
8. Louisville 0.964
9. Florida 0.961
10. USC 0.954
11. Auburn 0.932
12. LSU 0.927
13. Rutgers 0.927
14. Penn State 0.909
15. Tennessee 0.906
16. Georgia Tech 0.896
17. Wake Forest 0.892
18. Oklahoma 0.892
19. Virginia Tech 0.886
20. Texas 0.869
21. California 0.865
22. Maryland 0.854
23. Nebraska 0.850
24. TCU 0.832
25. Texas A&M 0.829

Mentzer College Football Rankings (Top 25)

Being the week that it is in Columbus, OH I thought it good time to publish my rankings for 2006 season. In case you don't know what week it is in Columbus, the FRONT PAGE of the Columbus Dispatch had a full blown picture of Ohio State vs. Michigan. Not the front page of the Sports section, but the front page of the entire newspaper. People around here seem to think that this game is a big deal.

It is the first time ever that the two teams have met ranked #1 and #2 and I'm pretty sure the first time they have met since 1934 with both teams undefeated. This may actually turn out to be a good game. Anyway, here are the rankings as I have put them together.

As for the rankings, note that Penn State is ranked 17th. This is because they have lost to #1 Michigan (0 losses), #2 Ohio State (0 losses), #5 Wisconsin (1 loss to Michigan), and #6 Notre Dame (1 loss to Michigan).

Team Points

1. Michigan 1.0000
2. Ohio State 1.0000
3. Rutgers 1.0000
4. Boise State 1.0000
5. Wisconsin 0.9868
6. Notre Dame 0.9864
7. Louisville 0.9851
8. West Virginia 0.9702
9. Arkansas 0.9630
10. Florida 0.9551
11. USC 0.9440
12. Wake Forest 0.9182
13. Auburn 0.9150
14. LSU 0.9132
15. Maryland 0.9123
16. Oklahoma 0.9048
17. Penn State 0.9007
18. Tennessee 0.8927
19. Georgia Tech 0.8916
20. Texas 0.8809
21. California 0.8762
22. Virginia Tech 0.8503
23. Nebraska 0.8469
24. Clemson 0.8315
25. Texas A&M 0.8253

Orioles Mailbag: should Hernandez DH more? Will big Russ Ortiz and Rodrigo be back?

Mailbag: Should Hernandez DH more?
Beat writer Spencer Fordin answers Orioles fans' questions

Would Ramon Hernandez have had a better season if he caught less games or spent more time as the designated hitter during the hot summer months?-- Walter B., Las Vegas

Hernandez just had the best offensive season of his career, so it's hard to say whether he would've been able to do even better. The backstop went into 2006 as Baltimore's most heralded acquisition, and he justified the acclaim by handling his job behind the plate and setting career highs in home runs (23), RBIs (91) and hits (138). Hernandez also set personal bests for a full season in both on-base percentage (.343) and slugging (.479).
The veteran managed all those numbers despite a wicked midseason slump that dropped him from the middle of the batting order to the bottom. Hernandez hit .260 or better in every month except July, when he hit .180. His power numbers dropped in the second half, but he finished the year with three homers in his last five games. In Baltimore's anemic offense, Hernandez ranked second in homers, RBIs and extra-base hits (54).
The Orioles are counting on Hernandez to produce a similar year in '07 -- preferably without the midseason swoon. And his bat is just an added benefit. The former All-Star was signed for his ability to work with young pitchers, a trait he showed in prior stops in Oakland and San Diego. If Hernandez can coax the best possible results out of pitchers like Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen, the O's won't care how he hits.

What are the Orioles going to do about Rodrigo Lopez? As a starter, he had the most losses in the Major Leagues. Is he going to stick in Baltimore as a reliever?-- Joshua S., Centreville, Va.

Lopez might be a lost cause. Baltimore gave him every chance to succeed, but he became just the third pitcher in franchise history to lose more than 17 games. Lopez had an ERA under 5.00 in just two months -- August (4.85) and September (3.97) -- and both came way after his season was beyond redemption. Despite all that, Lopez is still under contractual control, and the O's will likely try to trade him in the early part of the winter.
That's really the only recourse. Lopez, who holds a career record of 60-61, is a year shy of free agency. The Orioles will likely decline to offer him arbitration, because the process would all but guarantee a raise. In this case, that would mean a salary of $4 million or more. If a trade proves unlikely or impossible, Baltimore's only other option is to refuse to offer him a contract. In that case, Lopez would become a free agent.
What would be the point of losing him without compensation? In this case, it would mean saving $4 million or more. Baltimore isn't going to pay a reliever that much, and Lopez has pitched himself out of the rotation permanently. The Orioles will shop for a starting pitcher to take his spot -- even if it means paying more money. Lopez would do well to land with a National League team, where he could miss some of the game's biggest bats.

Angel Chavez, who came to the Orioles in the Jeff Conine trade, appears to be Baltimore's best shortstop in the Minor Leagues. Is he the fall-back option if the O's opt to trade Miguel Tejada?-- Jeffrey B., Camden, Maine

Chavez is an interesting player, but he can't fill Tejada's cleats. The infielder showed some pop last season -- which he split between Double-A and Triple-A -- but his true purpose in the organization is to add depth. Think of him as a supercharged Brandon Fahey, but without the ability to play left field. Tejada is the team's most indispensable player, and if the Orioles trade him, they'd likely need to land a replacement in the deal.
Chavez, meanwhile, may fit into the team's plans as a future utilityman. Second base and shortstop are the team's two strongest positions -- thanks to Brian Roberts and Tejada, respectively -- but Baltimore sorted through its utility options last season. Ed Rogers, Howie Clark and Fernando Tatis were all given chances to stick as reserve infielders, but none grabbed the job. If he ever gets the chance, Chavez may fare better.

What's the deal with Russ Ortiz? Will he be back next season?-- Emmaleigh O., Clay, W.Va.

Ortiz recently filed for free agency and most likely won't be back in Baltimore next season. The veteran went winless in 26 appearances last season and lost starting jobs with both Arizona and the Orioles. He allowed 18 home runs in 63 innings and may never regain the form that made him a strong starter with San Francisco and Atlanta. Ortiz doesn't have much velocity anymore and can't fool hitters with his breaking stuff.
Another Oriole, infielder Chris Gomez, filed for free agency at the earliest possible moment. Gomez spent two years in Baltimore and proved that he can still field adequately at every infield position. The 35-year-old does most of his damage against left-handed pitchers and will be searching for a utility job. Two years ago, Gomez signed as a Minor League free agent. This time, he may have to look for the same kind of deal.

O-R-I-O-L-E-S: Millar & Hawkins are now free agents

BALTIMORE -- Kevin Millar and LaTroy Hawkins filed for free agency on Monday, rounding out Baltimore's list of eligible players. Both veterans played with the Orioles for one season, and both may still be in the team's plans for next season.
Millar signed with Baltimore last winter and started at first base for most of the season. He surged in the second half and finished with the second-highest on-base percentage (.374) of any Baltimore regular. Millar had spent the previous three seasons with division rival Boston.
Hawkins, meanwhile, was one of the only veterans in a youth-laden bullpen last season. Baltimore leaned on him heavily late in games, and he responded with a 3-2 record and a 4.48 ERA. Hawkins served as a role model for many of his younger teammates and was popular inside the clubhouse.
Three Orioles filed for free agency over the weekend, which was the earliest possible time under the league's basic agreement. Utilityman Chris Gomez and reliever Russ Ortiz filed Saturday, the first day after the World Series, and backup catcher Chris Widger followed suit on Sunday.
Gomez spent two seasons with Baltimore, but the other two were relative newcomers. Ortiz joined the Orioles after getting released by Arizona, and Widger was a late signing after Baltimore traded Javy Lopez to Boston. Neither player contributed much in their brief auditions.
Widger got just 17 at-bats with the Orioles before a pinched nerve cut his season short. Ortiz, on the other hand, made five starts and 15 relief appearances for the Orioles. The right-hander went all season without a win and allowed 18 home runs in 63 innings as an Oriole.
Gomez missed two months with a broken bone in his right hand and only had 14 hits when September started. But he had a huge month, batting .437 (31-for-71) and finishing his season with a career-best 18-game winning streak. Gomez can still play all four infield positions.

"L-O-U-S-Y"

'Lousy' most fitting word for performance

Joe Paterno needed just six words to perfectly describe his team's performance during a 26-12 win against Illinois on Saturday.

Lousy, lousy, lousy, lousy, lousy, and for good effect, lousy.

"We're just lousy," Paterno said for the sixth and final time during a brief postgame press conference. "Can I get that across? It's spelled L-O-U-S-Y."

A graduate of Brown University's English program, Paterno probably has other words in his vernacular to sum up the Nittany Lions' effort.

Disgusting, horrendous and miserable come to mind.

"We struggled a little bit today," senior running back Tony Hunt said before reconsidering. "Well, a lot."

For the second straight week, Penn State's rushing attack faltered behind a porous offensive line. The last two games, Penn State has rushed for 26 yards on 49 attempts.

"I didn't feel like most guys out there -- including myself -- were making the second effort to get on blocks and things like that," All-America tackle Levi Brown said. "You can't have that if you want to win games."

The lack of effort was clear, as the Lions had just 184 offensive yards.

"[Paterno] used the word lousy for our offense, and I have to totally agree," said sophomore wide receiver Derrick Williams, who finished with 26 receiving yards and seven rushing yards. "Everybody needed to pick it up everywhere."

But nobody did. For Penn State's offense, momentum was nonexistent. Even after sophomore safety Anthony Scirrotto intercepted a Juice Williams pass on the Penn State 17-yard line and returned it to the Lions' 47-yard line, the offense started with no drive -- literally.

The next three plays, Penn State moved three yards, all on a run by Hunt on first down. Two incomplete Anthony Morelli passes later, Jeremy Kapinos punted, his fourth of eight eventual punts.

Subtract Dan Connor's safety, Tony Davis' fumble return for a touchdown and Scirrotto's kickoff return for a score, and Penn State's offensive production was nine points.

And while it's easy to credit Penn State's defense with the win, Juice Williams constantly confused the Lions' defense with the option, helping his team to 202 total rushing yards. Over and over again, the Illini ran the option to defensive end Tim Shaw's side, usually with success.

This week, Mike Hart, Brent Bracket and walk-on wide receiver Patrick Mauti all tried to play Juice Williams' role on the scout-team offense. Defensive end Josh Gaines even said Mauti broke a few runs for touchdowns in practice. With that said, it's not so surprising the defense couldn't stop Illinois.

If Penn State hadn't had a few timely defensive plays and a solid special teams performance, Illinois would have easily spoiled a perfect homecoming weekend in Happy Valley. In fact, the Fighting Illini should have. Penn State didn't deserve a victory Saturday, and the alumni didn't deserve an abysmal performance.

And at the end of the day, Paterno didn't even need six words to accurately judge the Lions' play. He could have done it in one -- lousy.

Arthur Rhodes files for free agency (10/29/06)

(10/29/06)

NEW YORK - One day after the World Series ended, baseball’s business season began Saturday when San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, Oakland’s Frank Thomas and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra headed 59 players who filed for free agency.

Oakland pitcher Barry Zito and Washington’s Alfonso Soriano are the biggest names available in this year’s free-agent class. Approximately 200 players are eligible to file by the Nov. 11 deadline, and free agents can start talking money with all teams the following day.

Under new rules this offseason, free agents do not face any deadlines to re-sign with their former teams. In the past, players had to re-sign by Dec. 7 (or Jan. 8 if offered salary arbitration) or else could not return to their former teams until May 1. The deadlines were eliminated in baseball’s new labor contract.

Among pitchers, the Chicago Cubs’ Kerry Wood and Houston’s Andy Pettitte could attract some interest. The Astros’ Roger Clemens also is eligible, but the 44-year-old hasn’t indicated whether he wants to pitch in 2007 or whether he’d consider leaving his hometown team.

Outfielder Luis Gonzalez, not wanted back by Arizona after eight seasons with the Diamondbacks, plans to play next year.

Bonds completed a $90 million, five-year contract with the Giants. He has 734 homers, 21 shy of Hank Aaron’s record, but it isn’t clear whether the Giants want him back. After missing most of 2005 because of a bad knee, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 RBIs in 367 at-bats this year.

“A lot of players are somewhat nervous or apprehensive about becoming free agents because of all the uncertainty,” Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, said Saturday. “Barry has nerves of steel. That’s also evident in the way he plays baseball.”

Five players filed Saturday from the New York Mets: outfielders Cliff Floyd and Ricky Ledee, pitchers Orlando Hernandez and Steve Trachsel and shortstop Chris Woodward.

Five players also filed from Philadelphia — catcher Mike Lieberthal and pitchers Arthur Rhodes, Rick White, Randy Wolf and Aaron Fultz — along with five from San Diego.

Three players filed from the New York Yankees: infielder Miguel Cairo, reliever Octavio Dotel and outfielder Craig Wilson.


© 2006 The Associated Press.

Insight

Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.
-- Homer Simpson

Gettysburg Times (10/23/06: Officials pestered by pigeon population

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Times Staff Writer

Gettysburg leaders are pestered by pigeon droppings peppering the rooftops of borough buildings.
For years, Gettysburg Borough Council has explored methods of ridding the municipality of the havoc-inducing winged pests.
The borough has budgeted $2,000 in past years for poisoning related purposes.However, that method doesn’t appear to be working.
Borough officials discussed the pigeon matter during a budgetary workshop Thursday evening.
Officials want to invest in a better population control option.
“We’ve been paying to poison the pigeons for a long time,” said finance director Ramona Overton. “It’s not working.”
The pigeon problem is frequent in at least five or six quadrants of the borough.Particularly, the burgeoning population flutters through the heart of town — Lincoln Square.
The birds frequently deposit waste products, which decay buildings, vehicles, and destroy property.
“They’re bad at my house,” said councilman John Murphy, a Long Lane resident.
The birds are also spotted regularly atop the roof at the historic Gettysburg Railroad Station on Carlisle Street.
Overton suggested investing in a method that would permanently address Gettysburg’s surging pigeon community.
“We should spend it once, and then we’re done,” Overton told borough officials, “insteadof paying for it again and again and again.”
Permanent deterrent methods — such as roof top metal spikes — could replace the present day pigeon control poison.
The borough finance director said ample funds are poured out of the municipality’s wallet,year after year, and it might be financially prudent to invest in a permanent solution, instead of temporary relief.
“Has the previous method not worked?” asked councilwoman Holly Giles.
Overton replied: “Don’t you see the pigeons? There doesn’t seem to be many solutions.”
Councilman Marty Qually suggested another solution.He said he was in favor of creating a municipal policy that would require property owners to help dispose of the unwelcome feathery creatures.
Contact Scot Pitzer at 334-1131, ext. 247 or spitzer@gburgtimes.com.

Pumpkin Carving

Happy Halloween!

P.S. My friends and I did this!

Your hangy ball...

...has a purpose! You've seen it. It dangles in the back of your throat like a piece of jewlery. I've always wondered, but I've never really known what its good for.

Somewhere along the way, I learned that the hangy ball (uvula) serves as a barrier against bacteria and other sources of infection along with the tonsals. This turns out to only be partially true. Interestingly, the tonsals and uvula aren't very good at this job and get infected themselves regularly. Their removal is one of the most common surgeries in all of medicine.

The uvula actually serves its most important purpose in newborns! It turns out that in newborns, the back of the throat is still developing, and these newborns haven't quite mastered the skill of breathing and eating separately and getting everything down the correct holes in the back of the throat. In these newborns, the uvula is positioned so that as they nurse they can drink milk and breath at the same time! As we grow, the back of the throat becomes elongated, so that the uvula no longer can hang in such a position, and thus we have to choose between swallowing and breathing, and can no longer do them simultaneously.

Election Season

The 2006 national election season is well under way. The most notable twist so far, the Republicans have sex scandals and the Democrats have money scandals.

Go Team!

It's been a treat to follow the Vikes so far this season. Although the offense has been anemic, the defense has been solid. In their worst effort of the first 5 games, they surrendered 19 points to the Bears, who lead the NFL in scoring thru 5 games.

Of course, the Vikings have produced respectable defensive efforts in September and October of past seasons, only to falter in the stretch.

This is a new team, though, with a new owner, a new head coach, much new personnel and a refreshingly new attitude. They have some young receivers on the offense that could develop into a reasonable offensive threat.

The Vikings are currently 3-2. If the defense stays tough and the offense comes around a little, they've got a shot at the post season.

Irony

Here is a little irony for you. I just took my second medical school examination (this one only lasted 7.5 hours, rather than a full 8 hours like the first one)on thursday. This examination was on the abdominal and pelvic cavities. Included in that is the large and small intestines, and at the junction of the large and small intestines is the appendix (also known as the veriform appendix (meaning "worm-like" appendix)).

Here is the irony. After three weeks of intense study on that region of the body, one of my classmates had to be rushed out of the exam on thursday to the emergency room. She had appendicitis, and needed an emergancy appendectomy!

After visiting her in the hospital yesterday I found out that she believes her appendix became ill to spite her. When we dissected out the intestines and appendix two weeks ago, she had made fun of the appendix that her cadaver had, calling it "small and stupid."

I suppose her appendix didn't want to stick around where it wasn't appreciated...

A Patriot's Tale

"I have a big ass flag! But I can't remember how I got it."

- Rudy the Patriotic American

Tradition

The Orioles traditional season ending swoon has hit full stride. The O's are 6-13 in September with 10 games remaining in the season against the Tigers, Twins, Yankees and Red Sox. Even the mighty Markakis has succumbed to tradition, hitting .221 thus far in September.

Eric Bedard has continued to pitch well notching his 15th win of the season in his last start to go with a 3.62 ERA. Well...., he's Canadian and I suspect he doesn't give a damn about tradition.

Adam Loewen has pitched well enough since returning from Triple A to post a winning record at this point (6-5). Loewen hails from Canada as well.

Hayden Penn finally managed to post a good start (against the Devil Rays) going 6 2/3 IP while allowing 2 ER, lowering his ERA from 27.00 to 15.43 since being called up at the beginning of September. He's from California.

The O's magic number for securing their traditional finish in the East is 3.

Ditka

Stuff from the last two weeks...

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind here at PSU College of Medicine.

First, I took my very first medical school exam on Aug 31st. It was a 7 hour exam (starting at 1pm and ending at 8pm) with two breaks. The first break was at 3:30 and it last 15 minutes and the second break was taken at 5pm and lasted approximately 5 minutes. I have gotten my scores back and although my grades weren't as high as I have experienced in the past, they were passing, and as the saying goes, "P = MD"

On Sept 5th, I dissected a man's testicles... Gentlemen, you can take pride in the overly-complicated system you manage to maintain down there. It's really not just a "ball sac." Enough said.

Today I had to purchase a opthalmascope and an otoscope... cost: $598. I realize these are fancy names, but these tools are basically magnifying glasses with attached light bulbs. The costs are really outrageous!

Over the past few days we have been dissecting out the long and short intestings, the stomach, the liver, spleen, kidneys etc. A few points of interest:
-the liver is the largest organ in the body
-your gall bladder is a seaweed green color and all the organs, tissue, fasia, and viscera surrounding it are also seaweed green from bile stains... I've seen it first hand! Please understand that the rest of your "insides" are some shade of pink (despite how text books draw them), so the gall bladder really, REALLY sticks out!
-there are three portions to your small intestine, all having goofy names: duodenum (do-odd-in-umm), jejunum (Jay-june-num), and ileum (ill-E-umm, okay this one isn't that goofy).
-your colon starts at your right hip, then ascends up to your right rib cage, then transversus the abdomen following the path of your ribs (you can trace it out with your finger), and then descends down the left side to your left hip, and then travels to the back of the pelvis where it forms the rectum. Despite taking the toughest biology classes Biglerville High School had to offer and 3 biology classes at F&M I was never aware of the length of the colon. I always just assumed it was a short intestinal organ right inside your anus. That ain't true at all! It's big and it goes places.
-here are some funny medical school words that I've run into: gubernaculum (goob-er-nac-you-lum, a ligament that pulls the testes into the scrotum right before birth), lunule (loon-you-all, there are a bunch of these in the body), appendixes applicae (mall fat globs hanging of the large intestine),and lienorenal (lean-no-ree-nal, a ligament extending from the spleen to the kidney).

Sports Column (Gettysburg Times): "Superstitions"

(This Gettysburg TImes sports page column is running this weekend. Enjoy. SAP)

BY SCOT A. PITZER
Times Staff Writer
__________________

Believe in jinxes?
What about superstitions?
Of course not.
I don’t either.
Unless the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing.
I know, it’s silly to think that fans actually have an influence on the outcome of a game.
I’ve heard stories about hardcore sports fans who — in fear that they might snap a winning streak, or harm their team’s playoff chances — go weeks without showering, changing their socks, or shaving.
(Don’t worry. I shower every day.)
Such superstitions are silly.
But whenever your team is 7-5 in December, and must win-out its regular season schedule just to BARELY qualify for the NFL playoffs, fans will resort to anything.
Count me as one of those fans.
Two close friends of mine married one another last fall, so naturally, I bought them the perfect wedding gift: football jerseys.
The female is a Steeler fan, while the male is a passionate Philadelphia Eagles supporter (I know — quite a combustible relationship, is it not?).
As I was forking over the $100 for the two custom jerseys, I figured heck, if I’m going to spend this kind of cash, I might as well buy me one too.
So I did.
A #7 Roethlisberger jersey.
I wore it for the Dec. 11 game versus Chicago.
Pittsburgh won, 21-9.
The next weekend, the black-and-gold ventured to Minnesota.
Again, I wore the #7 jersey.
We won that game, 18-3.
Dumb luck, perhaps, but the Steelers were 9-5.
Playoff hopes remained alive.
The next week, I again wore my new jersey, and we shellacked Cleveland 41-0.
Why ruin a good thing?
I dedicated myself to wearing that black home jersey for the rest of the season.
In Pittsburgh’s 16th and final contest against the Detroit Lions, the Steelers won 35-21, and earned the sixth and final AFC playoff berth, a Wild Card spot.
During the work week leading up to the first playoff game, a clash in Cincinnati against the Bengals, I recall a conversation with Times sport editor Josh Martin.
“There is no way we’ll beat the Bengals,” asserted Josh, also a die-hard Steeler fan, “and then go up to Indianapolis and beat them, and then beat Denver or New England in the title game. It just ain’t going to happen.”
The chances, yes, were slim.
But the Steelers won three road playoff games in a row and, of course, culminated their spectacular post-season run with a Superbowl win against the Seattle Seahawks.
And I watched it all wearing my Roethlisberger jersey.
You can only imagine my fear in June when I learned Big Ben was involved in a motorcycle accident that almost claimed his life.
Miraculously, he recovered, and was slated to play Thursday in the Steelers’ 2006 season opener.
But more trouble materialized.
Last weekend, the franchise quarterback was hospitalized, and doctors performed an emergency appendectomy.
The surgery prompted coach Bill Cowher to announce that Ben would not play against the Miami Dolphins in the season opener.
Great.
Ben’s not playing, so do I (a) wear his jersey for Game #1 — the same uniform i wore when we won eight games in a row last year to close out the regular season — or do I (b) scrap the good luck charm, and dress myself in other apparel?
If I choose option (a), I risk jinxing my own superstition.
Can’t do that, now can I?
Furthermore, if I wear the jersey, and we lose to the Fish, I taint the shirt’s legacy.
When the clock ticked its 11th hour, even though backup Charlie Batch was at the helm, leading the Steelers’ charge, I wore my Roethlisberger jersey.
Pittsburgh beat the Dolphins Thursday night, 28-17.
But I don’t believe in superstitions.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Scot Pitzer is a Times staff writer.

NEWSPAPER COLUMN: Mentzer Family wiffleball bash

Saturday, 090906

My sister’s unforeseen appearance at Grandma Mentzer’s holiday picnic Monday stymied the entire family.
Unfortunately, her wide assortment of knee-buckling pitches didn’t fool anybody.
When the dust settled at Mentzer Field, the Aunts-and-Uncles Team had scored 18 runs off of Jamie Lynn’s right arm.
Somehow, the Nieces-and-Nephews Team scored 19.
As always during these clashes, the unexpected materialized:
• Aunt Vicki and Aunt Sharon each had two hits;
• Dad belted two homers, including a grand slam;
• cousin Megan brought her new boyfriend to the picnic, so of course, the Aunts-and-Uncles Team recruited him. During his first at-bat, he lined one into the shortstop hole. I lunged to my right, barehanded the ball, and fired it across the diamond to Megan, our first-baseman. As she caught the ball, her boyfriend plowed into her. Pappy Mentzer, the umpire, called him out;
• Aunt Patti, the second batter of the game, cleared the vehicle-lined outfield fence for her first career homer, prompting Pappy to say at game’s end, “There were a lot of highlights, but Patti was the one I didn’t expect;” and
• the game went into extra innings. Pappy remarked during the post-game handshake, “I’ve watched these games for a lot of years, and I don’t remember the last time it went extra innings.”
Our statistician is currently looking that one up.
Truly, it was a game our family will never forget.
— Scot A. Pitzer

Labor Day Whiffle Ball Results

(Click on image to enlarge)

Week 2: Predictions from the Pressbox

Ladies and gentlemen, help would be appreciated! My picks are due by 6 p.m. Thursday.

High school games:
Dover at Bermudian Springs
Biglerville at York Catholic
Delone Catholic at Trinity
Gettysburg at Manheim Central
York Suburban at Hanover
New Oxford at West York
Susquehannock at South Western
Pius X at Fairfield
Kennard-Dale at Littlestown

College games:
Hampden-Sydney at Gettysburg College
Penn State at Notre Dame
Pitt at Cincinnatti
Ohio State at Texas

NFL games:
Baltimore at Tampa Bay
Cincinnatti at Kansas City
Philadelphia at Houston
Denver at St. Louis
Atlanta at Carolina
Indianapolis at N.Y. Giants
Minnesota at Washington

Labor Day Horseshoe Results

(Click image to enlarge)

Wasn't expecting this...

So now I'm a 3rd-week medical student! We've finished our dissection off the lower extremity (which was a heck of a lot more complicated than I originally exected!) and have moved on to the thorax. On thursday we opened the chest cavity and on friday we dissected out the lungs! Very very exciting!

Except for two things. To get to the thoracic cavity you need to remove the ribs. I anticipated using special medical tools for the dissetion.... thinking that speical instruments were going to be provided to saw through the ribs and sternum. Nope! Each group was handed a hand-saw from the 1950s for the big bones and a wire-cutter for the smaller sections of the ribs.

Then, to our surprise, 2/3rds of the left lung of our human cadaver was missing, and in its place was a goo-of-sorts. To the best of our ability, me and the other first-years in my group couldn't find a reasonable explanation for the missing lung, because there was no scare tissue that would indicate it was intentionally cut out. Our cadaver died of bladder cancer (age 88). Our professor says that its common for invasive cancers to spread, and in this case to the lungs. At which point, the lung may have destroyed itself in the process of trying to destroy the invading cancerous bladder tissue, leaving behind the goop that we found!

I thought that was interesting, and had never heard of anything like it. The goo was pretty gross looking, and we had to scoop it out with our hands and put it in plastic cups for testing. Yuck!

Reminiscent

The O's won another ball game last night defeating the Twins 6-3 behind a stellar pitching peformance from Adam Loewen (8 IP, 4H, 1 R, 0 BB). In the 7 games since being swept in Boston, the O's have gone 5-2. In those 7 games, 6 of them have seen solid starting pitching performances. Erik Bedard stumbled last Sunday (5 IP, 7 R) against the Blue Jays to end a season high 4 game winning streak for the O's. That stumble makes Loewen's effort last night look even better. The team ace gets beat up to end a winning streak and the next guy goes out and pitches a gem to (hopefully) get another winning streak started.

In the last 7 days, O's pitching has a 2.67 ERA and a record of 5-1.

The O's are definitely having a power surge, belting 5 HR's off of Carlos Silva last night to bring this recent 7 games total to 15. Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson went deep to complement the 3 HR's hit by Nick Markakis. Markakis is the 1st Oriole to hit 3 HR's in one game since Albert Belle did it in 1999.

Markakis is hitting .344 in August with 12 extra base hits (7 HR, 5 2B) out of 22 safeties. In the 6 games that Markakis has hit 2nd in the order, he is 10 for 23 with 6 HR, 10 RBI and 11 Runs Scored. That qualifies as 'starting to show some power'.

Solid pitching and home runs. Earl Weaver would be proud.

preserve a cadaver

I'm just entering my 2nd week of medical school... and as most 1st year medical students are doing, I'm spending at least 3 hours a day dissecting a human cadaver.

This anatomy course lasts 11 weeks, and I'll be working on the same cadaver for all 11 weeks! So your thinking (as was I) that there must be some special method for preserving this body day after day after day, otherwise it would rot and smell.

Possibly it has already been preserved by a specialist who pumped the body full of chemicals?
Nope

Then every night it is submerged in a preserving liquid?
Nope.

So it must be that every night the body is cooled, like in a special freezer or something?
Haha, no.

This is how its done:
Every day, when I'm finished with the dissection for the day, I cover my cadaver with paper towels. I then douse the paper towels with formadehyde, and then lay a small tarp over the top.

Not a very effective method, huh? I can't wait to smell the cadaver lab in late october! After one week its pretty bad in there!

But it's pretty neat that I've held the 4 quadricep muscles in my hand as well as the sciatic nerve (which is as big around as my index finger)... and many other things. So far I've dissected most of the lower limb. On wednesday we start the thorax!

Big Game for O's?

Baseball teams with a 54-68 record do not play big games.
But since I have the misfortune of holding the Baltimore Orioles in favor and I pine for something to care about, I have elevated todays game with the Toronto Blue Jays to Big Game status.

This requires a modicum of imagination.

Baltimore took 2 in a row from the Yankees in the Bronx and came home and whipped the Blue Jays 7-2 behind a solid starting pitching performance from Kris Benson (7IP, 6H, 2ER). This makes 3 wins in a row (tying the season high for the O's) and 4 straight solid starting pitching performances (which I believe is a season high).

The O's send Daniel Cabrera to the mound today against the Blue Jays Sean Marcum. If Cabrera can produce a solid performance today, it would represent the first time in I don't know how long the Orioles have taken a complete turn through the starting rotation with a good performance from each pitcher. It certainly hasn't happened this season or last.

Cabrera is 2-1 in 3 starts vs. the Blue Jays this season pitching 18 innings in the 3 contests while allowing 13 hits, 5 runs and 9 walks. Cabrera and Marcum faced each other on August 8th with Cabrera getting the win and Marcum getting a No Decision. I do not give the Orioles the pitching edge in any game Cabrera starts, but if I were forced to do so, I would give it for this game.

The Orioles are undefeated (3-0) with Nick Markakis batting 2nd in the order. Markakis is 6-12 with 2HR, 5 RBI and 6 Runs Scored in the 3 games since being moved to the 2 hole.

The O's may be experiencing a power surge. 6 home runs in the last 4 games and none of them by Tejada. Melvin Mora went deep in yesterday's victory over the Blue Jays.

So, on to victory this afternoon against the Blue Jays and season highs all around! I can hear the Orioles faithful chanting - You can't take us with Markakis!.... (batting 2nd)

Be Ye Inspired

Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Ths was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face...

Ezekiel 1:28

Is There Anything They Can't Do?

Bravo!

Shocking News: Gettysburg Times reporting that Niece/Nephew Team ace pitcher might not be available on Labor Day

I do not have a link, but Adams County's morning daily local is reporting that Jamie Pitzer, an 18-year-old phenom right-hander, who pitches regularly for the Nieces/Nephews team in the summer Mentzer Family wiffleball tournament, may not be available this Labor Day...

More news, sure to come...

the Tour de Testosterone

I have naturally high levels of testosterone.

Did he cheat?

Numbers

Why was six afraid of seven?

Because...

seven eight nine!!!

Lightning Strikes.... Again

Have you seen this?

Sic

It's a weak mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.

- Sir Walter Raleigh

WORLD CUP!

Everyone has to be excited about this thursday!!! But why the excitement? Well, after the US squad surprised the world in 2002 by making it the entire way to the world cup semi-finals, the US media played the 2006 games up big! The US team came out and completely stunk in their first game of group play, getting embarrased by the Czech Rep 3-0. Lucky for the rest of the group, the US managed to injure the Czech's best player, Koller. The US came out the next game against Italy and played to a 1-1 draw, playing a large portion of the game one man down due to terrible officiating! For the US to make it back to sigle elimination play we have to beat Ghana, who managed to be the Czech Rep. 2-0, but with out their best player, Koller! Meanwhile, this is Ghana's first ever World Cup. Their team is full of youth who have won major junior international tournaments, but never on the premier level! For the US to save our dignity we need to beat Ghana and Italy needs to beat Czech Rep. who now have another one of their best players injured.

The game will be shown thursday at prime time!

2006 Memorial Day Horseshoe tournament

It was a thrilling tournament and the level of play has been increased dramatically from last year and the next tournament will prove to be a grueling test of stamina.

Please -- Call me Squire

Spring has Sprung!

Where's Clark Kent?

"Apr 23 Spencer Fordin, of Orioles.MLB.com, reports Baltimore Orioles P Daniel Cabrera leads the American League in walks this season, with 22. "


Spencer Fordin, aka Jimmy Olsen, is trying to be as helpful as possible to fantasy baseball owners. He may want to look into the whole story and let us know just how Daniel became so proficient in walks.

Holy !@#$$%

Two little boys, ages 8 and 10, are excessively mischievous. They are always getting into trouble and their parents know all about it. If any mischief occurs in their town, the two boys are probably involved.

The boys' mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually. So the mother sent the 8 year old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon.

The preacher, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Do you know where God is, son?"

The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.

So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?!"

Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "Where is God?!"

The boy screamed & bolted from the room, ran directly home & dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.

When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?" The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time."

"GOD is missing, and they think we did it!"

They've Got Everything at that Mall

An Amish boy and his father rode into King of Prussia to visit the mall for the first time. All that they saw had them reeling in amazement, but the one thing that really caught their eye was a pair of shiny 'walls' that could slide open and close effortlessly shut again. The boy looked at his father and asked, "What is this thing, father?"

Having never seen an elevator before, the old man responded: "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't know what it is."

At that moment, a fat lady in a wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady moved between them into a small room. The walls then closed, and the boy and his father watched in awe as a series of semi-circular numbers above the walls lit up sequentially. They continued to stare as the numbers lit in reverse order. Finally the walls opened again and a gorgeous, voluptuous blonde woman stepped out.

Without taking his eyes off the young woman, the father said quietly: "Son, go get your mother .."

Epiphany?

I know more than a few ladies who root for a particular sporting team because they claim to like that particular teams' uniforms. This reasoning has always flummoxed me. Until last week, that is, when I found myself in a public house watching a figure skating competition on TV.

I found myself rooting for a particular competitor for the exact same reason.

Cardinal Rule of Technology Engineering

Never confiscate power from your end users.

NFL Officiating

"What has to be recognized is that the job of an NFL official is difficult and dangerous. Imagine being an NFL umpire. You're positioned five yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield. There are linebackers on either side, receivers running in front and behind you and quarterbacks throwing balls that go whizzing past your head. It's like being locked inside of a washing machine on spin cycle.

Your first task is to avoid being killed and second, look for holding. By the way, you're 60 years old and this is your hobby. Good luck. "

Read the whole thing.

Polar Bear Club News....

Simon says...

I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won.

The Jeff Mentzer College Football Rankings - Final

After the mythical championship game has been played, here are the final top 25 for the first ever Jeff Mentzer Rankings.

1. Texas 1.0000
2. USC 0.9940
3. West Virginia 0.9615
4. Penn State 0.9461
5. Ohio State 0.9440
6. TCU 0.8887
7. Oregon 0.8764
8. Alabama 0.8438
9. Virginia Tech 0.8295
10. LSU 0.8033
11. Georgia 0.7565
12. UCLA 0.7505
13. Florida 0.6723
14. Oklahoma 0.6649
15. Notre Dame 0.6579
16. Wisconsin 0.6283
17. Texas Tech 0.6235
18. Miami (FL) 0.6129
19. Auburn 0.6109
20. Boston College 0.6085
21. Louisville 0.5693
22. Nebraska 0.4213
23. Tulsa 0.3975
24. Toledo 0.3966
25. Michigan 0.3927

Still playing with the suggestions, may incorporate into next years rankings. The higher ranked teams in the top 25 from pre-bowl rankings went 11 - 5 in the bowls.

The Jeff Mentzer College Football Rankings

As I have been encouraged to publish my rankings, I will not tell you how I come up with these numbers, but I will let you know my top 25. I rank all of the teams, but the following is just the top 25.

Have fun and let's see if my #1 Texas is really better than my #2 of USC.

1. Texas 1.0000
2. USC 1.0000
3. Oregon 0.9897
4. West Virginia 0.9571
5. Penn State 0.9527
6. Ohio State 0.9388
7. Georgia 0.8670
8. TCU 0.8668
9. Alabama 0.8395
10. Virginia Tech 0.8219
11. Auburn 0.7943
12. Notre Dame 0.7863
13. LSU 0.7820
14. Miami (FL) 0.7613
15. Louisville 0.7600
16. Texas Tech 0.7382
17. UCLA 0.7063
18. Florida 0.6824
19. Wisconsin 0.6283
20. Oklahoma 0.6169
21. Boston College 0.5706
22. Michigan 0.5699
23. Minnesota 0.5248
24. Northwestern 0.5145
25. South Carolina 0.4940

How this top 25 has fared in the bowl games this year.

#1 Texas to play #2 USC
#5 Penn State to play #30 Florida State


#3 Oregon lost to #20 Oklahoma
#4 West Virginia beat #7 Georgia
#6 Ohio State beat #12 Notre Dame
#8 TCU beat #40 Iowa State
#9 Alabama beat #16 Texas Tech
#10 Virgina Tech beat #15 Louisville
#11 Auburn lost to #19 Wisconsin
#13 LSU beat #14 Miami (FL)
#17 UCLA beat #24 Northwestern
#18 Florida beat #29 Iowa
#21 Boston College beat #26 Boise State
#22 Michigan lost to #32 Nebraska
#23 Minnesota lost to #50 Virginia
#25 South Carolina lost to #46 Missouri

9 wins to 5 losses so far for the higher ranked teams with 2 to go. I guess that's not too bad.

Stay tuned for the post bowl rankings.

JSM

Nero fiddled......

In the old days, the Minnesota Vikings played NFL football in Metropolitan Stadium, an outdoor facility in Bloomington, MN. Even though the Vikings hey-dey during those years was under the leadership of "Nice Guy" head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings were a bunch of tough, cold and ruthless overachievers. Playing outdoors in Minnesota in December will do that to a football team.

Then the Vikings moved indoors into the Metrodome; and they got soft. They've had some good teams, but have yet to win a big football game in the indoor era. Not one.

Vikings management in the indoor era has fiddled around, coddling players and coaching staffs, ignoring weaknesses on one side of the ball or the other and never demanding accountability from anyone in the organization.

Yesterday, the Vikings whipped the division champion and hated rival Chicago Bears 34-10 to finish with a 9-7 record after a 2-5 start. A nice turnaround, but, apparently nice isn't going to cut it anymore.

Zygi Wilf, who bought the Vikings this past summer from former fiddler Red McCombs, fired head coach Mike Tice after the victory. Before the locker room had even cleared. Tough, cold, ruthless. Accountability demanded.

No more fiddling. Zygi plays guitar.

Should old acquaintance....

Happy New Year!