Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 31 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
On November 1, 2009, two New York teams, playing two different sports, will be traveling to Philadelphia for two monumental games. Obviously, game 4 of the 2009 World Series between the Yankees and Phillies is huge, but never write off an NFC East division rival matchup. The Giants are also visiting the city of brotherly love this Sunday as the two games are scheduled to both start within a 7-hour time frame.
As always, TMR will be in the Lincoln Financial Field parking lot bright and early in the morning while most of you are still comfy and cozy in your beds. This Sunday will be different though… we will be bringing you all of the sights and sounds of the tailgating and game scene via our new LIVE blog on the brand spankin’ new Motorola DROID. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Joe Viglione On October - 31 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
The documentary film THIS IS IT is a stunning look inside a magician’s bag of tricks, a behind-the-scenes chronicle of how a major music tour is put together. On that level alone it is worth more than a view, This Is It becomes the perfect textbook for any college course on marketing intellectual property. In addition to that, This Is It also provides a superior look at the construction (and deconstruction) of some music that is as familiar or almost as familiar worldwide as the music of The Beatles. And if you had a virtual “dance battle” between Fred Astaire and Michael Jackson, well…just watching the King Of Pop’s feet work non-stop throughout this entertaining 2 hour, one minute movie and the logical mind might have to give Jackson the edge over Astaire. To some that may be sacrilege, yet MJ’s pliable body is so adaptable to so many different looks and attitudes that the artistry beyond his immense vocal skills and songwriting talents is very very obvious in this truly unique presentation.
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 29 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
To celebrate the November 6th theatrical release of The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Zoo is giving away The Men Who Stare at Goats Book and a “No Goats, No Glory” T-Shirt, courtesy of Overture Films, to ONE lucky winner.
Movie Synopsis:
A reporter (Ewan McGregor) delves into the world of military psychic regiments during the Iraq War in this adaptation of the Jon Ronson book The Men Who Stare at Goats. George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges star in the Smoke House/BBC Films production. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 29 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
The NFL Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for Week 7 of the 2009 NFL Season have been announced and are shown below. Nobody guessed this week’s offensive OR defensive winners correctly. Desean Jackson was picked by quite a few members as a special team winner, but that doesn’t count. Better luck next week. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by TMR Newswire On October - 29 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
Brews Available for Purchase at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery for First Time with Release of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection
The Boston Beer Company announced today the limited release of a new series of beers, the Samuel Adams® Barrel Room Collection. The release includes three oak-aged beers brewed and aged at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. The brewery has long been involved in the time-honored tradition of barrel-aging beers, beginning with Samuel Adams® Triple Bock first brewed in 1993, to five batches of Samuel Adams Utopias® released since 2001. The release of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection today further demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to marrying traditional brewing methods with craft brewing ingenuity. The release of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection will mark the first time beer will be available for purchase at the Boston Brewery to local beer lovers and to craft beer pilgrims visiting from across the country and around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 28 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
The TMRzoo “Beat the House” Week 8 NFL picks and predictions are live and voting is now open. Week 7 saw the House fall again to the membership 9.5 to 8, while the Madden Sim fared even worse with only 4 total correct picks. It’s time to now make your week 8 picks and attempt the creep up the TMR Leaderboard and steal some prizes from us. Click below to enter now!
We have a full set of straightforward picks for week 8 and we might get all agrees. The only way to find out is to enter your votes and keep checking back to see how the percentages sway.
Don’t know about “Beat the House”? Click here to see exactly what we’re giving away this week. As always, the full set of Nickent Golf clubs is up for grabs and was actually won in week 1.
Posted by Neil S. Velleman On October - 28 - 20091 COMMENT
It all comes down to this, and it’s really no surprise. The Phillies, the defending World Series Champions, were favored to go back to the World Series all the way back in spring training. On the American League side, it was a tossup between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Always nice when a plan comes together.
For the Yankees, it’s their first trip back since they beat the Red Sox in the now legendary 2003 ALCS. You know the one: That’s the game that Boston manager Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in just a little too long, and he gave up the tying run in the 9th. Then Aaron “F’n” Boone hit the walk-off homer off of Tim Wakefield in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Ah, but I digressed. This season, we will be treated to an offensive slugfest. We will have the number one offense in the American League against the number one offense in the National League. We will have the Philadelphia Phillies’ powerhouse Ryan Howard (45 HR, 3st in NL) against the New York Yankees powerhouse Mark Tiexiera (39 HR, 1st in AL). Those two should set all kinds of records in the next ten days. Howard, along with Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez, has already tied the record for consecutive post-season games with an RBI (8), with Lou Gehrig.
Both the NLCS between the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the ALCS between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, were very exciting series that no baseball fan could have been disappointed with.
In the NLCS, the Phillies beat the Dodgers in 5 games. While their overall team batting average was nearly identical, (Phillies .231, Dodgers .232), the Dodgers starting lineup out hit the Phillies’ line up .243 - .235. But, the Phillies made their hits count. They outhomered the Dodgers 9-5, and hit more than twice as many runs in (30-14).
Right fielder Shane Victorino hit .368 in the series with 6 RBI, and constant superstar and NLCS MVP Ryan Howard hit .333 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in the 5 games, with a ridiculous OPS of 1.457. But the unlikely hero was catcher Carlos Ruiz, who hit .385 with 1 HR and 4 RBI, with an OPS of 1.287, much higher than his season average of .255 with a .680 OPS. And while Jason Werth only batted .222, three of his four hits were HRs.
Phillies’ pitcher Cliff Lee continued his mastery that he brought with him from the American League when the Phillies traded for him at the trading deadline in August. He faced the Dodgers once in this series, going 8 solid innings in the win and not allowing a run and lowering his post-season ERA to 0.74. Pedro Martinez also pitched 7.0 masterful innings in Game 2, giving up no runs on two hits, but the one run that Philly scored just wasn’t enough and LA scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th off of reliever Chan Ho Park for their only win of the series.
The Yankees had a tougher time than many expected with the Angels, but still out performed them at every offensive statistic from batting average (.279 - .236), to HR (8-3), to RBI (30-18), to walks (38-18), to OPS (.835-.651). Right fielder Nick Swisher, who hit 29 HR with 82 RBI during the season, provided almost no offensive support during the series. He hit a dismal .150 with no extra base hits and no RBI and 7 strikeouts. On the other hand, center fielder Johnny Damon hit .300 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, and shortstop Derek Jeter, while only batting .254, scored 5 runs while hitting 2 HR and driving in three more.
But, the real Yankees’ hero, and the guy who should have gotten the ALCS MVP in my opinion (sorry Dad), is Alex Rodriguez. While C.C. Sabathia pitched great, and won both games that he pitched, it was Rodriguez who really destroyed his post-season demons, maybe forever. In this series alone he batted .429 with 3 HR and 8 RBI, getting the walk-off HR off of closer Brain Fuentes in the bottom of the 11th in Game 2. Oh, he also had 8 walks and only 3 strikeouts with an OBP of .567.
While Sabathia may not have been deserving of the MVP which he won, it was not because he didn’t do everything asked of him and more. It was more that he just wasn’t as deserving as Rodriguez was, in my opinion. I’m sure there are those of you who are reading this right now who think I’m crazy, and some of that may have nothing at all to do with the MVP award. In 2 games, he pitched 16.0 innings and gave up 2 runs on 9 hits with 12 strikeouts and only 3 walks for a 1.12 ERA. Considerably better than his previous four post-season games with Cleveland and Milwaukee in 2007 and 2008 where he went 1-3 with a 9.47 ERA over 19.0 innings pitched.
Sabathia gets the nod in Game 1 against former Cleveland Indians teammate and fellow Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee (Sabathia won in ’07, Lee won in ’08). Sabathia did pitch one game against the Phillies earlier this season and went 8 innings on a no decision. He gave up 3 runs on 9 hits. Of all the current Philly batters combined, with nearly 100 at bats against him in his career, only Raul Ibanez has 2 HR against him. Both Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino have gone 3-for-7 (.429) against Sabathia.
Phillies’ new ace Cliff Lee has made the most of his first post-season appearance. In his game against the Dodgers, he only allowed 3 hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts. He went 1-1 against the Yankees this season giving up 4 runs on 16 hits over 12 innings. Being an AL pitcher for so long, he has faced the Yankees batters several times. Jeter has done very well against him, batting .407 with 5 RBI. Tiexiera has batted .391 against him with 1 HR and 6 RBI. Johnny Damon is about the only regular Yankee player who has done poorly against him batting a dismal 2-for-22 (.091). If you take him out of the mix, the rest of the regular lineup has hit well over .300 against him.
Game 2 features the Phillies Pedro Martinez against the Yankees A.J. Burnett. For Martinez, facing the Yankees is nothing new. Like Lee, he has faced them many, many times. In fact, he has faced them more than any other opponent, and he has done pretty well against them. While he only has an 11-11record over 32 games, his 3.20 ERA is pretty decent as is his 1.075 WHIP against them. If you look at the top 5 players with the most plate appearances against Martinez, three of them are Yankees: 1) Jeter - 99, 3) Posada - 69, 4) Rodriguez – 60. Overall, individually, he has done great against them, holding the current players to .230 average. Rodriguez has batted .291 against him with 1 HR, 4 RBI, and 19 strikeouts, but this is a different A-Rod. Jeter has a career .256 average against him with 3 HR, 6 RBI and 22 strikeouts. Everyone else in the current Yankees’ lineup has a career average of .200 or less, and many of them have very high strikeout totals. In other words, in the past, he has been their daddy.
The Yankees plan on countering with A.J. Burnett, who will participate in his first World Series. Burnett is an interesting case study. He can be completely unhittable, and he can be knocked all over the park. You never know which Burnett is coming to the mound. That’s what makes it so much fun. The last time he faced the Phillies, he got beat up pretty good. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits (including 3 HR) over 6 innings pitched. The current Phillies’ lineup has a career batting average of .265 against him. He has faced Jimmy Rollins 50 times and Rollins has a .256 average with 1 HR and 4 RBI. Several of the regular lineup is sub-.200, with the exception of Raul Ibanez (.257) and Chase Utley (.286).
Slugger Tiexiera has a good track record against Phillies’ pitching. He has that career average of .391 against Lee, plus .667 against J.A. Happ. Overall, he’s hitting .315 against them with 6 HR and 19 RBI. Rodriguez is also doing pretty well batting .283 in his career, with 8 HR and 22 RBI. Johnny Damon is batting a pretty lame .194 against Philly pitching with 1 HR and 3 RBI.
On the other side of the diamond, Ryan Howard hasn’t faced many Yankees’ pitchers, but he has faced Burnett and he hasn’t done well against him, batting only .167 with 2 HR. Raul Ibanez, who played most of his career in the AL, has a .282 career average against the Yankees with 5 HR and 26 RBI. He’s batted .275 against Sabathia and .286 vs. Pettite.
The other major factor to consider is how the bullpens match up against each other.
I’m not talking about closers Brad Lidge vs. Mariano Rivera. That’s another discussion that we’ll get to in a moment. I’m talking about the setup guys. The Phillies have Ryan Madsen, J.A. Happ (Possible NL Rookie of the Year), Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, and now Brett Myers. Sorry, I’m still not convinced that Chan Ho Park is legit. He’s too inconsistent. Always was. Always will be. The Yankees have Phil Coke, Philip Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Damaso Marte. Advantage – Philadelphia. Their pitchers are much stronger and much more consistent.
Now, let’s talk for just a moment about Rivera vs. Lidge. There is almost no discussion. OK, I’ll give you that Lidge has looked like the Lidge of 2008 this post-season. But he is not Mo Rivera. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he is the greatest post-season pitcher of all time. Until someone can prove me different, he has my vote. Sorry Philly Rob, you couldn’t convince me. Advantage – New York
So, is this going to be a World Series dominated by great pitching? After all, there are some great pitching matchups. Or, is it going to be a World Series where we are going to see hitting clinics on display? Since, as previously mentioned, we have the best offense in the AL against the best offense in the NL. Either way, this has all the makings of being one of the most exciting Fall Classics in a very long time.
If Philly wins, they have the distinction of being the first NL team since the ’75-76 Reds to repeat, and only the 3rd NL team since 1900 to repeat. Even if they lose, they have nothing to be ashamed of, being the first NL team to even make a return trip since the ’96 Atlanta Braves. In fact, it is so difficult to repeat that if you remove the several times that the New York Yankees did it over the past 100 years, the only teams to repeat were:
Philadelphia Athletics (1910-11, 29-30), Boston Red Sox (1914-16), New York Giants (1921-22), Oakland A’s (1972-74), Cincinnati Reds (1975-76), and Toronto Blue Jays (1992-93). Pretty short list.
Game 1: Wed Oct 28, in New York
Game 2: Thu Oct 29, in New York
Game 3: Sat Oct 31, in Philadelphia
Game 4: Sun Nov 1, in Philadelphia
Game 5: Mon Nov 2, in Philadelphia if needed
Game 6: Wed Nov 4, in New York if needed
Game 7: Thu Nov 5, in New York if needed
PREDICTION: NEW YORK IN 7 GAMES (but I have to say, if Philly had home field advantage, I could be persuaded to pick Philly in 7)
Posted by TMR Newswire On October - 28 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
Week 8 is here and three teams – Denver (6-0), Indianapolis (6-0) and New Orleans (6-0) – remain undefeated – the first time since the 1970 merger that the league has had three undefeated teams through the first seven weeks.
The Saints improved to 6-0 last week by overcoming a 24-3 deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins 46-34. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 27 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
Week 7 saw the House lose again for the fifth time in seven weeks. The membership’s 9.5 wins that bested the House’s 8 and kicked the ass of the Madden Sim’s mere 4. Week 7 brought the season total to 5 wins for the Members and 2 for the House. Tune back in on Thursday for the week 8 pics and predictions.
The season stats so far are:
*
The House
Madden Sim
Members
Week 7:
8-5
4-9
9.5-3.5
2009 Overall:
66-37
56-47
73.5-29.5
There was no place like home in week 7 as all but 4 of the home teams emerged victorious from their contests. Prior to the prime time games, that number was 2. Don’t put too much stock in that stat though, quite a few good teams were hosting the league dogs this week.
One game was disagreed with this week, with another one finishing in a 50/50 tie in voting. Both picks, the Niners over the Texans and the Falcons over the Saints, did not fall as the House predicted. The bad picks dropped the House another 1.5 games behind the members.
The House was beaten a DVD prize pack will be awarded. With 11 wins in week 7 and a competition-leading 81 wins on the season, mcole is our DVD prize pack winner. The Nerf Pro Grip football goes to a random member… bobbyt2. Good job, guys.
The second part of our competition, the Nickent Players of the Week, will be decided on Wednesday when the NFL announces the top performers for week 7. The prize is a full set of golf clubs and we actually had a winner in week 1. The odds are on your side, so go for it!
Tune back in on Thursday morning to once again agree or disagree with the House’s NFL week 8 picks and predictions.
For all other NFL and sports updates, check out the TMRzoo Sports Zone.
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 26 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
To celebrate the October 27th DVD and Blu ray release of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, The Zoo is giving away THREE copies of the DVD, courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, to THREE lucky winners.
Synopsis:
The Cylons began as humanity’s robot servants. They rebelled and evolved and now they look like us. Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them. But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Steve Tomassetti On October - 26 - 20092 COMMENTS
Rosie O’ Donnell opened the floodgates today during a revealing and extremely personal interview on the Howard Stern Show. The 75 minute interview was wide-ranging and covered subjects that O’Donnell herself admitted to never having gone into so much detail about before. O’Donnell opened up on many personal matters: from the painful loss of her mother; to her troubled relationship with her father; to her rocky marriage and how she relates to the trouble Howard Stern Show side kick Artie Lange is currently experiencing with depression.
The entire interview can be seen starting October. 27 on Howard TV On Demand and will be available for about three weeks. Visit Howard.tv for more information. Check out the preview clip below: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by TMR Newswire On October - 26 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
Coming Soon: Netflix Members Can Instantly Watch Movies and TV Episodes Streamed to TVs Via the PlayStation(R)3 Computer Entertainment System
With Movies Streamed Instantly from Netflix, Blu-ray/DVD Playback and Downloadable Videos via the PlayStation(R)Network, the PlayStation 3 System Offers The Industry’s Most Comprehensive Options for Watching Movies and TV Shows
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced that they are joining forces to make thousands of movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation®3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Bruce Owens On October - 24 - 20092 COMMENTS
I have for most of my life been in one player guitar bands. I cannot say if has been by design or fate. Being the lone guitarist and having eclectic tastes in music I have relied on a diverse collection of guitars to paint a sonic spectrum of tone. One aspect of this spectrum is mixing acoustic and electric characteristics.
At one point I was using an ES 335 for this task. While the ES335 is a great guitar, it is not going to give you a pure acoustic guitar sound. The other drawback to the classic Gibson is the ES 335 is prone to feedback when pushed to the limits with gain. Read the rest of this entry »
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The documentary film THIS IS IT is a stunning look inside a magician’s bag of tricks, a behind-the-scenes chronicle of how a major music tour is put together. On that level alone it is worth more than a view, This Is It becomes the perfect textbook for any college course on marketing intellectual property. In addition to that, This Is It also provides a superior look at the construction (and deconstruction) of some music that is as familiar or almost as familiar worldwide as the music of The Beatles. And if you had a virtual “dance battle” between Fred Astaire and Michael Jackson, well…just watching the King Of Pop’s feet work non-stop throughout this entertaining 2 hour, one minute movie and the logical mind might have to give Jackson the edge over Astaire. To some that may be sacrilege, yet MJ’s pliable body is so adaptable to so many different looks and attitudes that the artistry beyond his immense vocal skills and songwriting talents is very very obvious in this truly unique presentation.
Brews Available for Purchase at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery for First Time with Release of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection
The TMRzoo “Beat the House” Week 8 NFL picks and predictions are live and voting is now open. Week 7 saw the House fall again to the membership 9.5 to 8, while the Madden Sim fared even worse with only 4 total correct picks. It’s time to now make your week 8 picks and attempt the creep up the 
It all comes down to this, and it’s really no surprise. The Phillies, the defending World Series Champions, were favored to go back to the World Series all the way back in spring training. On the American League side, it was a tossup between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Always nice when a plan comes together.
Week 7 saw the House lose again for the fifth time in seven weeks. The membership’s 9.5 wins that bested the House’s 8 and kicked the ass of the Madden Sim’s mere 4. Week 7 brought the season total to 5 wins for the Members and 2 for the House. Tune back in on Thursday for the week 8 pics and predictions.
Rosie O’ Donnell opened the floodgates today during a revealing and extremely personal interview on the Howard Stern Show. The 75 minute interview was wide-ranging and covered subjects that O’Donnell herself admitted to never having gone into so much detail about before. O’Donnell opened up on many personal matters: from the painful loss of her mother; to her troubled relationship with her father; to her rocky marriage and how she relates to the trouble Howard Stern Show side kick Artie Lange is currently experiencing with depression.
Coming Soon: Netflix Members Can Instantly Watch Movies and TV Episodes Streamed to TVs Via the PlayStation(R)3 Computer Entertainment System
Enjoy…
I have for most of my life been in one player guitar bands. I cannot say if has been by design or fate. Being the lone guitarist and having eclectic tastes in music I have relied on a diverse collection of guitars to paint a sonic spectrum of tone. One aspect of this spectrum is mixing acoustic and electric characteristics.
