FreeSeatUpgrade
Feb 11, 2008 May 30, 2012 77 6234
email:
a fan of
Oakland Athletics
Oakland Raiders
North Carolina Tar Heels
RSSUser Blog
DLD 030309: No More Monkey Business
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Mar 3, 2009 3:01 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
Apparently monkeyball has left the building. I point you to the AN masthead at the bottom of the front page…now, with 66% less whimsy! Also, he told me.
But I do not care to delve into matters base and meta. I come to bury monkeyball, not to praise him.
No, wait. I do come to praise monkeyball. And to provide today’s DLD. Because AN is an honorable blog.
435 comments
|
15 recs |
Tweet
DLD 020609: Warm Springs Infernal
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 6, 2009 1:34 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
There’s an axiom in political event planning: never book a room you can’t fill. Nothing looks worse on camera than a bunch of empty seats, but by contrast, a standing-room-only crowd makes your (candidate/cause/publicity stunt) look vibrant and in high demand.
144 comments
|
4 recs |
Tweet
Box Office Report
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 24, 2009 8:00 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
51 comments
|
6 recs |
Tweet
DLD 100808: That election everyone’s talking about
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Oct 8, 2008 12:19 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
That’s right…the Fremont mayor’s race and what it might mean for the A’s. What, you were thinking about some other election? No CGVinista me…I’m keeping it all baseball, all the time. At least until Late Night with Roy Williams kicks off the UNC Tarheels’ 08-09 men’s hoops campaign…in just two weeks!
73 comments
|
5 recs |
Tweet
Peanutball, The End. Apachylypse Now
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Sep 10, 2008 9:56 AM EDT
on Athletics Nation
Darkness. Bats on balls.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Fade to slabs of sunwashed gray concrete. Crack. Crack. Stadium plaza: Ticket Services…Staff Entrance…Will Call…Crack. Curls of hot dog steam. Crack.
Massive concussions. Crack. Flames consume the crumbing park. Crack. Crack. Crack. Music:
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end.
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end…
50 comments
|
24 recs |
Tweet
DLD 081208: Gio’s like the sweetest guy ever
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 12, 2008 4:48 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
It’s late and there’s no DLD. So goes life when your team 1) had an off day yesterday; and 2) sucks. But I cannot let a certain something go unobserved by you, my A’s fan brethren and sistren.
But lo! a ray of sunshine doth pierce this veil of sorrow! His name is Gio Gonzalez, and as Susan Slusser chronicles in today’s, well, Chronicle, he’s like a cross between Gandhi and the cutest puppy dog ever.
83 comments
|
4 recs |
Tweet
DLD 071508: Baseball's Greatest Dicks
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jul 15, 2008 2:38 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
Apparently there hasn't been an everyday Dick in the big leagues since Dick Schofield pulled out of baseball after the 1996 season. Twelve long, hard years of Dicklessness.
128 comments
|
4 recs |
Tweet
DLD 071108: Can I see some ID, kid?
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jul 11, 2008 12:37 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
I commend you to this fine tale of one man’s refusal to accept the end of his dream, to play professional baseball, and the outlandish steps he took to sustain it. In short: lie about age, briefly join A’s organization, get cut, move to Australia, lie about name age with a newly created Aussie persona, don goofy wig, suffuse skin with anti-aging cream and thrice-daily shaves, and finally make it onto a professional ballfield at age 36…only to be undone at the last by a hidden ball trick. Worth a read. Also reminds us that some things never change:
176 comments
|
6 recs |
Tweet
DLD 060608: Mmmm, Doughnuts…
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jun 6, 2008 1:22 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
122 comments
|
6 recs |
Tweet
DLD 060208: Lights on, no one’s home
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jun 2, 2008 3:54 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
I was going to add this as a simple link in someone else’s DLD. But it’s past noon and there ain’t no such beast, so here you go: Sunday’s Tribune followed up on an earlier "attendance sagging" article with a Carl Steward column which basically consisted of angry emails from fans who aren’t going to many/any games in Oakland this year.
105 comments
|
6 recs |
Tweet
Your man on the scene
by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 7, 2008 12:39 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
"Is this Heaven?" "No, it’s the BART lot."
Midweek Day Game: seductive gateway drug. The first one’s $2. Next thing you know it you’re unshaven, unemployed, and drinking beers at 11 AM.
It’s sooooooooo good.
Sadly, I am fully employed. And partially shaven. Despite these obstacles, I will soon be savoring a gourmet brunch of burrito and Suds-Over-Asphalt, after which I'll repair to my choice of sun-kissed Coliseum seats.
Scratch a fan alone at a ballgame and you’ll find a geek. And maybe tetanus. No geek-denier me, I’ll wear it today, and if fickle technology and fickle'r motivation allow I’ll bust out the laptop and keep you posted in this thread. If it works I'll post again before first pitch.
This is gonna kill my chances with the ladies.
89 comments
|
5 recs |
Tweet
DLD, May 1st, 2008: Red
by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 1, 2008 3:16 AM EDT
on Athletics Nation
Happy May Day! If you’re reading this you’re probably not shutting down the West Coast ports with the ILWU today.
Workers (with unchecked internet slack access…call it "slackcess") of the World Unite! As most of you know, it’s International Workers’ Day! Our friends at the IWW tell us that "Most Americans don't realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as "American" as baseball and apple pie."
That’s all the hook I need!
146 comments
|
10 recs |
Tweet
DLD 030608: Blue
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Mar 6, 2008 3:10 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
154 comments
|
7 recs |
Tweet
DLD 022708: Dump Me Two Times, Baby
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 27, 2008 3:25 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
“I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.”
As we continue our sporadic series of DLDs which for no good reason hook on a common cultural touchstone which to all appearances has no relation whatsoever to the A’s or even baseball. But they do all mean something to me. So there! Previously: John Lee Hooker, Robert Anton Wilson, Dead Kennedys, Ned Flanders.
Now: Ladies and Gentlemen, The Doors!
133 comments
|
10 recs |
Tweet
Bug my car dump: Weekend DLD 0216-1708
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 16, 2008 4:29 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
Inspired by Apricot’s awesome HOWTO DLD IN 3.0 DLD of yesterday, I thought I’d check and see what this brave new world was like for myself. Also, with the recommend system now working, Zonis’ Bug Report fAnPOsT has dropped out of sight, so please use this space to post weekend links and 3.0 bug reports. I have some of both:
83 comments
|
6 recs |
Tweet
Super Bowl: Wanna Bet?
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 31, 2008 5:20 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
Disclaimer: Nothing in the phrase "Wanna Bet?" should be construed as an invitation to bet. No suggestion or offer herein contained is meant to promote or facilitate any wager, or to in any way encourage the participation in games of chance or skill for monetary or other fungible reward. Even Josh Heytvelt fungi-bles. The author of this post does not suggest or endorse gambling, ambling, rambling, or Grambling, though Doug Williams does rock. AthleticsNation.com shall be held harmless for any incorrect inference drawn by anyone, ever, about anything. "Point spreads," "Money Lines," "Odds" and other such terms herein contained are common usage expressions for methods of equitability for self-selected participants and do not connote or imply any form of gambling activity, legal or otherwise. Contest is meant for fun only: no actual fun may be inferred. Spend your money on unlicensed BART Bridge merchandise instead. The phrase "spend your money on unlicensed BART Bridge merchandise" is not meant as an imperative or invitation to trademark fraud. "Fun" is an ephemeral concept subject to re-interpretation at the author’s sole discretion.
DLD 013108: Mean Girls and Englishmen (go out in the midday sun)
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 31, 2008 12:24 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
With the news that Andy Pettitte may tell Congress he discussed HGH with Roger Clemens and trainer Brian McNamee, Deadspin provides the definitive cultural comparable to the Clemens-Pettitte saga of frenemies: the modern classic film "Mean Girls".
No one else? OK, fine...it’s the first Uber Bowl XLII DLD (012808)
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 28, 2008 5:02 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
I know, I know, at T minus seven days it’s almost too late already. You coulda stopped this...you coulda posted a DLD. So there! And what’s more, you get only one link.
DLD 011608: Jerks, Crooks, and Oddballs
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 16, 2008 1:26 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
I’m a little short on feel-good links today. So let’s try some feel-bad ones!
Dump not closed on weekends, 01 12+3 08
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 12, 2008 4:01 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
Dump closed on Thanksgiving, maybe, but not on weekends. hward86 relays the breaking rumor that Troy Glaus and Scott Rolen will be birds of a new feather next year. Here’s the mlbtraderumors.com link.
DLD 123107: It's the End of the Dump as We Know It
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Dec 31, 2007 4:49 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Lyrics by R.E.M., Links by F.S.U.
Peanutball 8: Stomper's "A Christmas Carol"
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Dec 18, 2007 12:50 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
Stomper’s "A Christmas Carol"
Stave 1: FINLEY’S GHOST
Finley was dead, to begin with. There was no doubt whatever about that. The earth on his grave had been pissed on by Bowie Kuhn, Catfish Hunter, fans of tasteful clothing and most of the local population of pack mules. William Beane had pissed on it. And in this business Beane’s name was gold.
DLD 110807: Spot? Damn! Out.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Nov 8, 2007 12:13 PM EST
on Athletics Nation
So last night I decided to sleep in Inverness. I love Marin County when the soothing howls carry through fog ‘oer the moors.
DLD 110507: Hey Joe, where ya goin with that mike in your hand?
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Nov 5, 2007 10:18 AM EST
on Athletics Nation
Last week Nico, perhaps in the grips of a cutthroat game of Truth or Dare, fessed up that he thinks Joe Morgan has become a good broadcaster. For my part I’m somewhere in the middle, agreeing with Nico that Morgan can offer insight at times, and that he’s personable and has good rapport with Jon Miller, but also agreeing with devo and others that his wisdom about on-field events can’t compensate for a tide of gaffes and his stubborn refusal to accept any knowledge but that earned in big league dugouts, boned bat-smooth and varnished with a patina of tobacco spit.
Well, if it’s gross viscous stubbornness you crave, have I got the opportunity for you! The Oakland City Council meets tomorrow night at 6:00!
DLD 100107: Well I used to love her, but it’s all over now
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Oct 1, 2007 1:31 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
I open with a Zen koan: If the Chron sportspage lacks Slusser articles for long winter months at a time, will it still besmirch my hands with anachronistic ink?
DLD 091807: Hey Vicente Padilla, ask Sen. Kerry a question!
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Sep 18, 2007 3:23 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
I cannot abide DLDlessness another moment, so I’m gonna stick this f’in thing up there, so that the links may find a home for the entertainment and edification of ANers near and far.
WeekenDLD 0825-2607: Pry it out of my cold dead what?!
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 25, 2007 12:56 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
Just a short weekend DLD so folks have a place to put stuff. If you're like me, your closet's full...dump some stuff here instead!
Hey-DLDiddily-ho, AN-erinos! (082207)
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 22, 2007 3:33 AM EDT
on Athletics Nation
"Hens love Roosters, Geese love Ganders, Everyone else loves Ned Flanders!"
I know I sure do. From his mustache to his relentless positivity to his rippled pecs, I think we could all use a healthy dose of Re-Ned-ucation!
Baby Got Bat
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 13, 2007 1:27 AM EDT
on Athletics Nation
My contribution to the debate over the moves the A’s should make this offseason:
Oh, my, god. Billy, look at his bat.
It is so big. (scoff) He looks like,
one of those face-lick girls' boyfriends.
But, y'know, who understands those face-lick girls? (scoff)
They only talk to him, because,
he looks like totally available, 'kay?
I mean, his bat, is just so big. (scoff)
I can't believe it's just so round, it's like,
out there, I mean - gross. Look!
He's just so...
DLD 080207: Hope Floats
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 2, 2007 12:00 PM EDT
on Athletics Nation
Never saw the film. I’m a big Forest Whitaker fan, but the story seemed a little...um, how to say this delicately...chick flicky. Sorry. Maybe it’ll reach the TBS/TNT rotation some day and I’ll have no choice but to watch it a half dozen times.
Showing 1 - 30 of 77 Older
