This issue is too important to not spread to the far ends of the interwebs. We face a very serious threat to freedom of expression this week, one that transcends party and ideological lines. SOPA and PIPA will, in effect, end the internet as we know it. If these bills were to pass, this site and many others would risk being shut down (nobody on this site creates those images of internet memes themselves.)

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I'm here for a bit. By here I mean Ohio, about an hour and a half north of Cincy.  Sidney, Ohio. Industrial wasteland.  Anyway, I've met some of y'all but it would be nice to see some others. Some of you will be surprised to discover I don't have horns and I shower, unlike the Fox News portrayal of us communist librul dirty hippy socialist demons who want to take your freedom.

I've been feeling like an outsider of late. I don't know where I live anymore, between Beirut, Washington, and now Denver, I don't know where I want to be. But I do know one thing. I ALWAYS want to be at GABp when there's a Reds game going on.

So what say you? Wanna have an RR thing this weekend?

Hi, Reds fan here, going to be in Denver the first week of April and want to visit Coors Field.  I have a ton of questions about the place and as a fellow SBNian, thought I'd come over here for advice.  I've been to half the ballparks in MLB but am realizing I know next to nothing about Coors, Denver, or Colorado for that matter.  (I usually live in DC, am from Ohio, and currently reside in Beirut until next week.)  I'm aiming for either April 2,3,5, or 6. I hate the Dodgers so am leaning towards one of those games so I can root against them.

So, I'm looking for cost-efficient seats (more $ for beer) and I'm wondering how the views are from from the cheap seats.  First, the Rockpile.  Hard to beat $4.  What's the view like out there?  I'm really going for the stadium experience more than the game, so I'm ok with distant views as long as the atmosphere is good.  Aside from the Rockpile, how do you all feel about the other "cheap seats" - the left and right outfield reserve and the corners? 

Also, I'm pretty clueless about the weather out there at this time of year.  The friend I'm meeting says sometimes there's snow on the ground in the mornings and sunshine and warmth in the afternoons, while returning to winter in the evening.  So, as someone who pretty much moved to Beirut to skip this past winter and who has a mid-summer's tan already and will be going to the beach this weekend, it's probably best for me to pick one of the day games, right?  Sunday or Wednesday?

What about parking?  Where do the smart fans who don't mind walking park?  You know, the places where the people who complain about the cost of parking at baseball stadiums don't know about?  In Cincinnati, you can pay $2 to park and walk across the river.  There's also a $7 garage about three blocks from the stadium that people seem to think is too far away.  Do you have any places like that?

Any "can't miss" things about Coors Field?  You know, like how Pittsburgh has the Negro Leagues statues or the Reds have their Hall of Fame Museum or the Bankee$ have their Monument Park?  Anything that makes Coors unique?  Any foods I should indulge in?  Any specialty beers from Colorado?

Last thing - places to go before or after the games.  Any recs?

I appreciate any advice you can give, and you are always welcome over at Red Reporter since you aren't Cardinals or Cubs folks.  :)

Yep, it's time for another and bigger Reds get together at Momo's on U Street.  It's 1300 something - I could look up the address since at this point in time I can't remember it exactly, but there's google.  And you can always email me if you're lost.

Stephen Strasburg is going to be a heck of a pitcher - he already is.  But the insanity surrounding him in DC is, well, insane.  There is no perspective.

I've invited a few Nationals fans, too, just to make it more fun when we win and Joey MVP Votto hits a Strasburg fastball into Kentucky.

So, if you're in DC on Wednesday, July whatever this Wednesday is, you better show up with Reds gear on to root, root, root for the Redlegs and put these Nationals folks who think Stephen Strasburg is Jesus in their place.  (No, seriously, it is an irrational circus.)

Lose, lose, loooooooose Deadbirds! Fall from your nest and break your eggs on the cruel ground below, then fry up in this hot, hot heat! We gotta keep that one game lead.

Cardinals and Dodgers are on MLB Network right now.  In the absence of Our Favorite Team(TM) playing tonight, this is the Next Best Thing.

For those who don't know, this is Voodoo Albert. Feel free to stick a virtual pin in him.

Continuing on with the FanPost(TM) travel theme, anyone up for a RR gathering on Friday, July 2 in Chi-town USA to watch the Reds beat up the Zambranoless Chub$?

I'm going to the July 3 and 4 games but will be in Chicago from Friday (flying to Dayton, driving with family to Chicago, stopping some time to watch the USA team at 2:30pm insha'allah they get revenge on Ghana tomorrow) to Monday.

I haven't been to Chicago since...since...since...college.  That was a freaking decade ago.  Eleven years actually! Gasp!  Used to drive up from Miami to see the Reds play.  Back then, Chub$ fans weren't so annoying, and it was pleasant to go to Wrigley Field even if you were dressed up in the other team's gear.  It also didn't cost fifty freaking dollars for freaking bleacher seats.  I don't know if there was even such thing as MLB.com back then, but there definitely was not MLB.TV.  People still watched the Chub$ on WGN even if they didn't live in Chicago.  And E$PN was still watchable.

I don't know Chicago very well, and since it's been so long since I've been there, I don't have any idea where a good place to watch the game would be, so I would be open to any suggestions.

It's been a decade since I've been there, a decade since the Reds have won, a long, long, long, long decade, but 2010 is a new decade, and our farm is ready for harvest.  All things grow, all things grow.

That's right - once again it's time for a gathering of the DC Displaced Reds Fan Club.  Some of you have attended these fine meetings in the past, some of you have recently moved to the area, and some of you have been secretly living in DC without telling us.  Some of you keep moving in and out of the DC area and I have no idea if you are here or there or anywhere.

When: 7pm Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Where: Momo's - 1334 U Street NW

What: To watch the first place Reds take on the Hated Trolley Dodgers. And to drink beer.

Let's turn Momo's into a Reds bar!  We should be able to pack the bar since the Reds are in FIRST PLACE!

Let me know if you're coming - send me your email address and I'll put you on the mailing list for future gatherings.

So I was reading a comment when a certain person listed a bunch of cable television shows he watches and some others responded with comments about other shows I have never heard of.  This made me curious about the television viewing habits of Red Reporters, so I came up with a list of questions out of nosiness. 

1. Do you own a television?  If so, how many?

2. Do you watch television shows online?  Which ones?

3. How many hours per week do you spend watching television or online television shows, movies, and news (excluding Reds games)?

4. How many shows do you watch regularly?  Which ones?

5. How many movies do you watch per week?

January 6th. The Epiphany, the day the Baseball Writers of America may or may not have an epiphany and do the right thing.

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Look, I have to do something I don't normally do, because I think it's important. 

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Yep, he did.  Homer Bailey won NL Player of the Week for kicking ass.  Actually, if you think about it, the fact that Homer won 8 games this year and wasn't up with the Reds all year is pretty darn awesome. And to think he was also the victim of a couple of blown saves.

I'll never forget that Major League debut, when I stayed home on a Friday night just to watch the game, only to lose electricity after the fifth inning due to a storm. I got out a transistor radio and dialed up 700 WLW all the way here in Washington, DC.

Oh, if I had the time, I'd go through and post all of those comments saying Homer would never be a Major League pitcher and we should trade him and blah, blah, blah, but I don't have the time, and really, what's the point? I'm just reveling in the sweet Homer goodness that was promised to us all of those losses ago.

To those who were calling to trade Homer in the spring - Ha!  What do you think now?

(So we got two POW's in a row? Next year's not looking so bad...)

Ok, I know Joey isn't back yet, but I'm quite certain he's gonna be back on Tuesday.  He wants to play, he's been fine in two rehab stints (three I guess - I don't know what happened today), and it is his hometown.  So let's watch together (and Gray's in town so we'll want to treat him to a good old fashioned DC gathering of Reds fans.)

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It's a real shame that we can't get together to see the Reds for at least one game this week.  Or maybe no one saw the announcement.  Come on!  Solidarity!  (We're the Reds, after all.)

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What do you think of him now?

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Game times this week Reds at Nationals Park - Tuesday and Wednesday @ 7pm, Thursday @ 4:30.  Let's all sit together and form a massive red block.

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Last time we had five people gather at Momo's on U Street.  It would have been more, but we had to move from Solly's because they got rid of their Extra Innings package, and several people told me they showed up at Solly's after the second inning, when we moved.

Anyway, come and watch the first place (hopefully still) Reds with fellow fans on Wednesday, May 20 at Momo's on U Street (the address is 1300 something).  They take on the World Champion Phillies at 7:10pm. 

Next month's gathering?  At Nationals Park!  To see the Reds live!  The Reds from Cincinnati!  Three days in a row!  The game on Thursday, June 11 oddly starts at 4:35, so we'll have to get together for post-game drinks.

Hi guys, trying to organize a game watching together meeting in the nation's capital.

The details:

Wednesday, April 29 @ Solly's on U Street.  Game time is 7pm.  Wednesdays are the day when the guy from Ohio works there.  Bar is located near U Street Cardoza Metro Station on the Green Line.  They had a car drive through the building last year but they still opened up that day despite the fact that they had no wall.  Gotta love a place like that.

Trying to make this a monthly thing because it's always better to watch a game together than alone.  Would like to fill up the downstairs part of the bar with Reds fans.  It's about time we have a Reds bar in this city since there are enough of us here.  Also, I have two cans of Skyline if anyone wants me to bring them.  Ha ha.

Ignore the fact that is was me who posted this and just come and watch a game with Reds fans!  Woo!

The dump is gone. Sure, it hosted four World Series, a Beatles concert, and was the venue for a murderer to gain 2000 yards in a season, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a dump. A dump with memories, sure, but a dump nonetheless. I had the good fortune of going there for two games vs. the Reds in 2006 and found it to be a bigger dump than RFK, especially when I sat on a seat that broke after I moved from what was the no alcohol section to a beer section. The stadium had to be pretty cool when it was new, though. I always liked the blue exterior. And we still get the constant airplanes overhead, something that is as Mets as that apple that came out of the hat.

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I watched Legends of the Fall yesterday for the first time in a least a decade. While I always considered myself a fan of the movie, I had honestly forgotten what it was about.

But that's not the point. It was the Montana scenery that made me want to travel to that state just to see it. I guess I've always wanted to go there. It's so beautiful.

I wanted to know if there was any interest in getting a group together and going to see the Mustangs some time this summer. I thought maybe we could organize a trip, maybe hire a van or an RV or something (or use one that someone already has?) and spend some time in Montana.

I'd be more than willing to handle the organization of such a trip. The Mustangs have been ours forever and it'd be nice to give them some love. And we could see Tom Browning (isn't he the Mustangs' pitching coach?) I don't know. Just a thought.

I don't sleep. 

I have had something of a sleeping disorder for what I suspect has been all of my life.  I remember my mother becoming angry because I slept so late, but honestly, even as a kid, I had trouble getting out of bed because I hadn't slept the night before.  The sleep paralysis and the vivid dreams I have when I finally drift off has led some doctors to suggest I have narcolepsy, but the process to diagnose such a disorder is lengthy and expensive, so I have never had an official diagnosis.  Narcolepsy is the inability for a body to regulate sleep cycles.  Most people who suffer from this disorder are cursed by the symptom of following asleep at random times, but I don't really have that problem, though I have been known on occassion to zone out.  It's the insomnia that dulls my mind.  So it's 3am and I am still awake with no sleep in sight, I've been thinking about the worst songs from the nineties.  We named a bunch of crappy songs:

Macarena

What If God Was One of Us (subjunctive, anyone?) by Joan Osborne

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? by Paul Cole

Freshmen by The Verve Pipe

Meet Virginia by Train

Those Aerosmith songs that all sound the same

Rico Suave

Achy Breaky Heart

Color Me Bad

Step by Step

Mambo No. 5

I'll Be There for You by The Rembrants (Friends theme)

Spice Girls

Everything Zen by bush

That Candlebox Song

Cumbersome

How Bizarre by OMC

I Want You by Savage Garden

Real Big Fish

Ace of Base

There were others, but I don't remember them and don't feel like looking them up again.  I'd like to add "I'm Blue da da dee" by Eiffel sixtysomething and anything by the Spin Doctors and All Star by Smash Mouth and Crash Test Dummies' Mmm mmm mmm and Mmm Bop and oh my god it's all coming back to me now!  (That song, too.)

All of this terrible music got me thinking, what are the ten worst songs of all time?  What are my ten least favorite songs?  What songs really make me cringe?  It was tough to pick just ten, and I realized just how many crappy songs are out there.  I mean, nearly all the shit that gets radio play these days is garbage and all that American Idol stuff is computer generated, but crap pop is nothing new.  Think Styx.  Think Rush.  Think Boston.  I mean, "More Than a Feeling" is considered by many to be a "classic" song, but it's one of the worst songs evah.  People who still listen to that garbage, who see it on iTunes' "guilty pleasures" and buy it are people who probably will go out and buy the new Camero.

My list for top ten worst songs evah includes:

Ironic by Alanis Morrisett because nothing in the song is Ironic

I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meatloaf - for the longest time I didn't know what "that" was.

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith - if he was so angry about 9/11, why didn't he join the military and fight instead of putting out this racist crap?

I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston - don't get that wail into your head.  It won't go away.

The Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler - this song is cringe worthy.

We Are the World - the money they raised for this crappy song wasn't enough to keep up with the pace of debt for African countries.  As god awful as this song is, at least twenty years later people have learned that aid doesn't work without economic development and debt relief.

Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder - seriously, two music greats does not make a right.

Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus - Yeah, I think everyone can agree on this.

Mickey by someone who shouldn't have had a record contract.  Oh Mickey, you're so fine you blow my mind and my eardrums.

We Built This City by Starship - quite possibly the worst song ever recorded.  I like how they complain about "someone always changing corporation names" though they'd changed their band name three times.

So what are your top ten worst songs of all time?  Because there are so many crap songs to choose from, I've established some rules:

1. Had to be a "hit" song, meaning it can't be something obscure that no one's heard of

2. Don't confuse horrible song for overplayed.  A lot of decent songs are ruined by overplay, but that doesn't make them bad songs.

3. That's it.  If I made any typos it's because it's 3am and my eyes are burning from no sleep and staring at this screen.

Remember way back when, back before the Reds season was a lost cause, when Edinson Volquez and the Reds kicked Cliff Lee's rear end?  That was some game.  i was there, rooting on our guy, a guy who must have a Cy Young in his future.

How did this happen?  How did Cliff Lee go from being a picture of mediocrity to a dominating Cy Young winner? 

On a related note, Hobbs won a silver slugger.  What a great trade that was, but boy, do I wish we could have both Voltron and Hobbs on our team.

Lots of stuff going on today prior to tomorrow's deadline.  It's nice to have some real baseball news for a change rather than the endless speculation about things that may or may not happen.  Or may not happen and then happen later.

By now some of you have heard about the free concert given by Cincinnati's own - and my second favorite band - The National on Thursday in support of the next President of the United States.  The National and Dayton's own The Breeders will be playing from 5-8pm on Fountain Square.

We need a LARGE turnout here to show SW Ohio that we are serious about change.  And even if you want more of the same, come by and listen to two awesome bands (one more awesomer than the other) (yes, I know awesomer isn't a word) play live FOR FREE in Cincy.

My god, do I love this band.  They're like the Second Coming of Bono.  Seriously, seriously, seriously, if you want change, send this info and kidnap all of your friends and take them to Fountain Square on Thursday.  Seriously, because like, seriously, you could support a candidate, but if you don't lift a finger for your candidate, he might lose.  Also, HAVE YOU VOTED YET?  Do it.  But also inform your friends, family, enemies, coworkers, bartenders, and neighbors about this event.  Seriously.

Hear them here.

Info about the rally here.

My bet is they save Mr. November for last.  Barack won't fuck us over, he's Mr. November.

My other bet is that they are trying their best to get Barack on the stage on Thursday.  He will be, after all, debating in Toledo Wednesday night.

Seriously, come.  If you are between Sidney and Cincy, I will personally come to your house with my car whose muffler seems to be falling off even though it's a 2002 model and drive you in my unairconditioned car all the way to Cincinnati although you have to find your own way back unless you live between Springboro and Cincy.  (Story not interesting.)

If you are coming, let's hook up for a beer or ten.

Seriously.

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

I haven't been around here much since the death of my laptop in June.  You're probably thinking, well, why doesn't she just get another one?  Ha!  Try doing that with no salary!  Ha!  Seriously, though, I'm sticking around Ohio until Our Holy Election Day to help out with The Campaign, and though I do get a little bit of dough for that, it sure ain't enough for a new computer!

If you are a UC student, you might have taken one of our shuttles last week to the Hamilton County Board of Elections.  You might have seen a short woman with a Reds shirt and Reds cap running around campus trying to meet with people who could help spread the word that we were driving voters to vote (over 500 for the week!)  You might have seen her at Baba Budan's - here's a shout out to those folks because they were awesome to us!  Go there!  I missed most of the division playoffs because of Golden Week, but as the Reds weren't playing, I didn't care much, though I was hoping to see Griffey get to the ALCS.  And I wanted the Sausages.  I suppose I shouldn't say outloud that I want the Phillies and the Rays, because every team I root for seems to lose.

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Anyway, I wanted to post something because I'm in the mood for posting things because I have nothing to do until the game starts, and I thought I'd share some photos of the rally at Fifth Third Field on Thursday for those of you who haven't seen them.  I've never seen such a line to get into a ballpark as I did at 9am on Thursday morning. 

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It felt awesome to enter the ballpark, and had there been a ballgame, my seats would have been awesome!  I was in the second row behind home plate while Barack stood above the pitcher's mound.

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

I don't think I can adequately describe with words the excitement I felt that morning - I got to combine two of the things I love the most - baseball and social justice, and the fact that Senator Obama enters a rally to a U2 song, well, three of my favorite things were evident that morning.

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There are a few more photos on my blog Church of Baseball and also at my other blog, washingtonrox.  That was the blog I started with before I got fed up with politics, but I've started writing there again, so if you are pro-Barack or even respectfully McCain (not bringing monkeys into Palin rallies, for example), feel free to come visit and comment.

Being at the ballpark sure made me wish I could go to a Reds game.  I'd even watch Corey Patterson to be able to watch Reds baseball.

I always liked the Kevin Bacon game, or at least, the thought of the Kevin Bacon game.  I'm not a movie person, so I am very bad at it, like Corey Patterson is to hitting.  I haven't seen half the movies I should have, and those I have seen, I forget the names of the actors.

But I do know baseball.  I was thinking as I watched a yellow finch hop up and down a screen eating bugs off it, how many players would it take to connect Bruce to the Babe himself.  No, I don't know why the thought occurred to me as I watched living things being consumed with a sort of violence akin to that of a gaelic football match, but that's the human brain.  We use ten percent of it (some of us far less, I think), and we know next to nothing about it.

The links have to have played on the same team.

So, here goes mine.  See if you can do it in fewer links.  (Have we done this before?)

Jay Bruce played with

Ken Griffey, Jr. in 2008 who was teammates with

Ken Griffey, Sr. in 1990 who won a ring with

Tony Perez in 1975 who played with

Joe Nuxhall in 1963 who pitched to

Ray Mueller in 1944 who was teammates with

Babe Ruth on the 1935 Boston Braves

That's six links. Hey, six degrees of separation!

I've just come across tickets to tonight's game - they're somewhere behind the first base dugout - but I can't find anyone to go with.  If anyone wants the ticket, let me know asap.

I know it's belisle pitching, but he had such a horrendous start last time out that maybe he's due for a good game?  i had a dream last night - before i knew i had tickets - that i went to the game and homer was pitching.  hmm.

I have one $12 ticket to the Dragons game tomorrow if anyone is interested.  I haven't been since the Dunnandkearns show and I've only sat on the lawn, so having seats should be fun. 

I know Todd Frazier and Brandon Waring are on the team, but does anyone know anything else about them?  Everyone I knew from last year has moved up, and Frazier should be in Sarasota very soon.

Hamilton cf
Keppinger ss
Griffey rf
Phillips 2b
Dunn lf
Hatteberg 1b
Encarnacion 3b
Jorgensen c
Shearn p

Ramirez ss
Uggla 2b
Hermida rf
Willingham lf
Jacobs 1b
Ross cf
Treanor c
Amezaga 3b
Barone p

Well, here we go, trying to sweep a bad team with a bad pitcher.

In case you haven't heard, Saarloos moved his deck chair to Louisville again to make room for Shearn.

It sure is nice to expect the team to win everyday, even if we do have a 30 year old making his Major League debut. I saw the guy pitch in Richmond - I was not impressed. Still, the team seems to be doing what it needs to do to win, even if it is hitting three run homers late with a seven run lead (cuz they knew Stinkton lurks in the pen...) Good luck, Tom.  Go Reds, team of destiny!

...after being on the Reds for a day.

We had a "discussion" about Narron's impact on the pen and how he misused players.  At one point half of our relievers were in the top ten in appearances, if I remember correctly.  Guys arms were getting worn out, and nearly all of them aside from Weathers and Coutlangus were ineffective.  Or some, like Burton, were not used or came up with mysterious injuries.

Enter a different manager.  Not a guy I want to have back next year, mind you (Dunn and Hobbs out of the same lineup yesterday, anyone?), but a guy who at least has a clue about how to use a bullpen.

But there is that other factor in the pen equation, the sweater factor, the guy who dreamed of becoming a travel agent and is living his dream.

Who do we have in the pen now?  Weathers, Burton, Bray, Majewski, Gosling, Guardado, Saarloos, and Stinkton.  One of those guys is holding the place of a starter.  It's almost the right pen.  Coutlangus and McBeth should be in there, but we do need a long reliever in there in Gosling or someone similar, and we all know the sweater has no arm holes and we're stuck with Stinkton.  There's also Brad Salmon, who didn't do a bad job up here.

If things are right with Majewski and the way he's been throwing is an indication that he has returned to his 2005 form, well, we should sing from the rooftops.  It also puts us in a little predicament.  I mean, if we're forced to keep Stinkton next year, are we going to have to keep Coutlangus, McBeth, and Salmon down all year?  Is sweaterpants going to keep Guardado?  Do we even need to find off season bullpen help?

And what do we do about Todd Coffey?