Monday, June 30, 2008

Poll: Keeping Up With The Jones

Assuming Andruw Jones does indeed return to the lineup in time for some Carne Asada, I'm going to set the following modest goals for him over the last 68 games of the season:

  • Hit 8 HR's (for a season total of 10)
  • Knock in 25 runs (for a season total of 32 RBI's)
  • Bat 0.230 (which would end his season ~0.205)
  • OBP 0.280
  • SLG 0.350

So I am wondering...if the baseball Gods magically appeared and gave you the opportunity to lock in these numbers for Jones' 2nd half now, or let his season play out as it will, what would you do (let's say keeping him benched is not an option)?:

If you could, would you lock in the above numbers now or let Jones play out his season?
Wow, those number exceed my wildest dreams - lock 'em in!
His career SLG is 0.492. Now that he's healed he can do way better than 0.350 - let him play it out!
  
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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Poll: Sometimes Bad Is Bad

Who will end the season with the lowest batting average?
Mark Sweeney (currently 0.113 in 53 AB's)
Angel Berroa (0.154 in 26 AB's)
Chin-Lung Hu (0.159 in 107 AB's)
Andruw Jones (0.165 in 133 AB's)
Gary Bennett (0.190 in 21 AB's)
  
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Poll: Life Choices in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The journey from cradle to grave is filled with formidable challenges and difficult choices. Sometimes success or failure depends on who you choose to jump into the foxhole with. Below we present four real-life situations and ask you, dear reader, to select who you would most like to have by your side when facing the given situation. While I urge you to think carefully before answering each one, there are no wrong answers. Except maybe answer (b) in the first question.

Choose wisely!

Q1. You find yourself in a dark alley cornered by a group of thugs. Who would you most want to have your back?
Chewbacca
C3PO
Han Solo
Yoda
  
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Q2. You're a single guy preparing for an evening of cruising the bar scene to pick up women. Who do you pick as your wingman?
Chewbacca
C3PO
Han Solo
Yoda
  
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Q3. You've been called away on an extended business trip to a foreign country. Who would you feel most comfortable to have periodically check in on your wife while you're gone?
Chewbacca
C3PO
Han Solo
Yoda
  
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Q4. You've recently inherited a large sum of money from a distant relative. Who would you be most willing to take financial advice from?
Chewbacca
C3PO
Han Solo
Yoda
  
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Thursday, May 08, 2008

Who's Hotter, Part II

Rafael Furcal (.366/.448/.597)


or


Kristen Bell (34/24/34)?


Who's hotter?
Rafael Furcal
Kristen Bell
  
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Furcal photo by Jon SooHoo/Dodgers

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Reverse Beer Goggles

...and who are they?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved. Below are the original photos of Person A (congrats Dangerion) and Person B (congrats Erin). But you can still vote!

Who is Hotter?
Person A
Person B
  
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Complete lifecycle of puzzle: 1 hour, 3 minutes.

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Monday, April 07, 2008

Say It Ain't So...Or Mo, Ho, Jo, Lo...

When you think of people with three names, they usually fall into one of two categories: high-profile assassins such as John Wilkes Booth, James Earl Ray, Lee Harvey Oswald, or Mark David Chapman; or tempting Hollywood starlets such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rachel Leigh Cook, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or Sarah Jessica Parker (oops! good catch...Sarah Jessica Parker isn’t tempting).

Frighteningly, there are signs this annoying trend may be heading for the major leagues. While no current players go by three full names (keep working on that swing, Mark Paul Gosselaar), triple-naming may have found an entry point via the increasingly popular two-letter pseudo-middle name ending in ‘o’.

Which, naturally, gives rise to another poll:

Who is your favorite major leaguer with a 2-letter pseudo-middle name ending in “o”?
Chan "Ho" Park
Jo "Jo" Reyes
Paul "Lo" Duca
Wily "Mo" Pena
Carlos "So" Taguchi
  
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Delino's First Poll

Sorry our First of April trickery didn't last long enough to include my "Top Ten Reasons Anaheim is Better than Los Angeles."

In its stay, I offer up my very first poll (I'll leave the PowerPoint to the brilliant Eric Karros). Thanks to the generosity of 76 Petrol user Steve Sax, I got Two Tickets to Paradise... in the form of reserve level Dodger seats. And it will be the first baseball game attended by the future DeShields (slated to arrive during the Phillies series in August). My wife kindly agreed to go to tonight's game, despite the usual pregnancy nausea and tiredness.

Without further delay, here's the question of the day.

How long will Mrs. Deshields last at tonight's game?
Six Innings
Eight Innings
The Full Game
She'll call it a night while walking from our spot near the Police Academy
  
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Who Is Your All-Time Favorite Angel?

Who is your all-time favorite Angel?
Gary DiSarcina
David Eckstein
Jim Edmonds
Darin Erstad
Mickey Hatcher
Rex Hudler
Adam Kennedy
Troy Percival
Rally Monkey
Tim Salmon
Mike Scioscia
Reggie Willits
  
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Monday, March 24, 2008

Choo-Choo-Choose a Monkey

Sometimes it seems like SI's journalists are just phoning it in. In a recent "Pop Culture Grid" column, SI asked the A's Jack Cust, the Wild's Eric Belanger, and the D-Backs' Bill Murphy what pet they'd most like to own. The unanimous answer: a monkey. Uh, duh. That's like asking "What's your favorite Right Said Fred song?" or "Which former N'Sync member gets the highest-quality tail?"

Enough with these softballs. Let's pose the question everyone is thinking but nobody has the balls to ask: Which fictional cartoon monkey kicks the most ass?

Here are the five candidates, in reverse chronological order:

Fictional Cartoon Monkey
Debut Vehicle, Year
Monkey's BFF
Sample Ass-Kicking
1. Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong video game, 1981
His son, Junior
Skillfully re-shaped public image from imperialistic villian in Donkey Kong to sympathetic victim in Donkey Kong Junior
2. Grape Ape
TV series Tom and Jerry Show, 1975
His alliterative driver, Beegle Beagle
Continues to perform acts of kindness despite battling society's pre-conceptions regarding 40-foot purple apes
3. Chim-Chim
TV series Speed Racer, 1967
Speed's little brother, Spritle
Once found a dead hooker in the trunk of Speed's car
4. Curious George
Children's book Curious George, 1941
The Man in the Yellow Hat
He's a rock star
5. Sun Wukong (a.k.a. The Monkey King)
Epic Chinese novel Journey to the West, c. 1690
The India-bound wandering monk Xuanzang
Can leap 108,000 miles, lift 15,000 lbs, transform into 72 different objects, command the wind, and is impervious to fire

Which fictional cartoon monkey* kicks the most ass?
Donkey Kong
Grape Ape
Chim-Chim
Curious George
Sun Wukong
  
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*Yes, I know some technically aren't monkeys. Hey, it's a frickin' survey about cartoon character primates on an LA Dodgers blog. Get over it.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Who Will Win the SoSG March Madness Pool?

Here in SoSGville, we have a slightly untraditional take on March Madness. Instead of filling out brackets, four of us (Sax, Pedro, EK, Orel) draft 16 teams each. Drafting teams instead of picking games makes for somewhat of a "Calcutta"-style tournament, allowing players to root for teams to progress through the tournament rather than root for outcomes of specific games. And it always leads to conflicts when you're pulling for one of the teams in your stable, but you hate them otherwise (e.g., Duke); it also allows for a requisite degree of trash-talking in situations like when EK's Butler mounted Pedro's Cougar (usually it's the cougar who is on the prowl, right?).

Half the (theoretical, ahem) pot goes to whoever owns the tournament champion, and half goes to whoever has the most total wins (and we credit first-round games with the same score as later-round games). We also award minor "booby prizes" thrown in for biggest upset winner (by seed) and biggest blowout loser (by points). We draft in reverse order of the previous year's winners, and this is how things shook out this year (by selection order):

SAX
UCLA (1W)
Louisville (3E)
Wisconsin (3M)
Pitt (4S)
Washington St. (4E)
Marquette (6S)
Purdue (6W)
Mississippi St. (8S)
Kent St. (9M)
Davidson (10M)
George Mason (12E)
Siena (13M)
Boise St. (14E)
Georgia (14W)
UMBC (15M)
Mount St. Mary's (16E)

PEDRO
UNC (1E)
Georgetown (2M)
Stanford (3S)
Michigan St. (5S)
Drake (5W)
W. Virginia (7W)
Oregon (9S)
St. Joe's (11E)
Kansas St. (11M)
Baylor (11W)
Villanova (12M)
Austin Peay (15S)
Belmont (15W)
Portland St. (16M)
Texas-Arlington (16S)
Mississippi Valley St. (16W)

EK
Memphis (1S)
Tennessee (2E)
Duke (2W)
UConn (4W)
Notre Dame (5E)
Clemson (5M)
Gonzaga (7M)
Indiana (8E)
UNLV (8M)
Texas A&M (9W)
S. Alabama (10E)
St. Mary's (10S)
Arizona (10W)
Kentucky (11S)
Winthrop (13E)
Cornell (14S)

OREL
Kansas (1M)
Texas (2S)
Xavier (3W)
Vanderbilt (4M)
Oklahoma (6E)
USC (6M)
Butler (7E)
Miami (7S)
BYU (8W)
Arkansas (9E)
Temple (12S)
Western Kentucky (12W)
Orel, er, Oral Roberts (13S)
San Diego (13W)
Cal St. Fullerton (14M)
American (15E)


Since EK wasn't available to participate in tonight's conference call draft, he submitted a preference list. Hence, (1) he was unable to make on-the-fly drafting decisions based on his previous picks, and (2) he ended up with Duke. The consensus among us remaining three players is that EK had the best draft, and he didn't even have to pick up the phone.

What do you think?

Who will win the TOURNAMENT CHAMPION prize in the SoSG March Madness Pool?
Sax
Pedro
EK
Orel
  
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Who will win the MOST TOTAL WINS prize in the SoSG March Madness Pool?
Sax
Pedro
EK
Orel
  
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(Thanks to Sax for the post assist!)

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Hu's The Better Comparison?

So sometime during the day today, I finally came to the conclusion that Chin-Lung Hu looks a lot like Shaobo Qin, Yen from the Ocean's Eleven series of movies. This was not necessarily original material, having been referenced before over at Blue Heaven, where ernest had made this connection back in September 2007 (when looking at SoSG's rookie hazing pictures, no less; it all comes full circle!).

Now, cognizant that Deadspin's ombudsman had already made this caution in the post, "Not Every Black Man in America Is Martin Lawrence," I thought I should be careful with such a "separated at birth?" comparison that hinges upon race. After all, we live in Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities in America, where different people from different races intermingle each day and certainly in the crowd of each game at Dodger Stadium. SoSG, in turn, is also color blind (except for pro-Dodger blue and anti-orange, that is), and we want to make sure that we look well beyond racial lines.

So with that in mind, let's leave it to the SoSG readers in a new poll: Chin-Lung Hu Looks Like Which Ocean's Eleven Cast Member?

George Clooney?


Matt Damon?


Shaobo Qin?


Bernie Mac?

Chin-Lung Hu looks like which Ocean's Eleven cast member?
George Clooney
Matt Damon
Shaobo Qin
Bernie Mac
  
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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Poll: Which is the Least Real?

These days, with scruples seemingly decreasing as quickly as science, pressure to perform, and media scrutiny are increasing, it's becoming more and more difficult to tell what's real. We thusly pose our next poll...

Which of the following is the least real?


1) Roger Clemens' statistics after age 40

W L ERA K K/9
Roger Clemens (2002-2007) 74 39 3.23 944 8.25

2) Bill Belichick's Super Bowl victories

3) Shawn Marion's excitement at being traded from Phoenix (34-15) to Miami (9-39)

"I'm looking forward to it. I'm a Miami Heat player."
-Shawn Marion, Feb 7, 2008


4) Jennifer Love Hewitt's cans

Which is the Least Real?
Clemens' stats
Marion's excitement
Belichick's championships
Love Hewitt's cans
  
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Friday, February 08, 2008

Determine the Most Dynamic Dodger Duo

To commemorate this weekend's 111-screen release of Paris Hilton's latest cinematic magnum opus The Hottie and the Nottie (criminally ineligible for Oscar consideration this year), we're letting you crown the Dodger couple most worthy of the "Hottie and Nottie" title. Is it:



Vice Chairman and President Jamie McCourt & Chairman Frank McCourt?



Assistant GM Kim Ng & GM Ned "Sexylegs" Colletti?


former Senior VP of Communications Camille Johnston & current Chief Marketing Officer Charles Steinberg?



catcher Russell Martin & second baseman Jeff Kent?


celebrity sports blogger Alyssa "Smurfette" Milano & a bunch of anonymous Dodger bloggers?

Who is Dodgerdom's premier "Hottie and Nottie" couple?
Jamie & Frank
Kim & Sexylegs
Camille & Charles
Russell & Jeff
Alyssa & faceless bloggers
  
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UPDATE: The Hottie and the Nottie grossed $9,000 on Friday, with a $81 per-screen average.

UPDATE: Weekend total = $25,000 with a $225 per-screen average.

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Saturday, January 26, 2008

New Poll Up at Dodgers.com

(Scroll to bottom left of the home page to vote.)

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Saturday, September 15, 2007

FOUND: Pictures of Dodgers' Rookie Hazing! Part 3!

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? Shaft! And who's the submitter and photographer team that's a Dodger-rookie-hazing-picture-providing machine to all the eager Dodger fans? Phil Witte and Belen Mota, respectively!

Background: Eric Hull in frilly red pajamas with devil horns (or as I call it, what I wore to my last job interview. Why haven't they called back?). Foreground: Eric Stults, pirate. Captain Jack Sparrow is unimpressed.


L to R: Andy LaRoche (background) with rainbow wig (John 3:16 sign not visible), Stults the loafer-wearin' pirate, Delwyn Young as a suspiciously broad-shouldered Snow White, Hell-Hull, Chad Billingsley (background) as Robin Hood (he strikes out the rich and poor alike).


Jonathan Meloan as...well, you tell us:


Tarzan?




Bamm-Bamm?




Shadow of the Colossus?







Whom does Jonathan Meloan most resemble?
Tarzan
Bamm-Bamm
Shadow of the Colossus
Furious Tiki God
  
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And in case you missed it...

FOUND: Pictures of Dodgers' Rookie Hazing! Part 1!
FOUND: Pictures of Dodgers' Rookie Hazing! Part 2!

Stay tuned, SoSG faithful, for our next installment—where everyone's favorite catcher with a jazzy middle name is revealed to lead a secret luchador life!

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Poll: Who's Least Worthy?

One thing that is helping me get through the Dodgers' race to the bottom is thinking about hot chicks. And one sports debate that will always exist is which player has the hottest wife. From Marilyn Monroe to Brooke Shields to Eva Longoria, the discussion never goes out of style. But as usual, we at SoSG like to put our own spin on things. Thus is born the first annual Who's Least Worthy Award.

Here's the deal: I have no problem with David Beckham, Tiger Woods, or, um, Tito Ortiz having hot celebrity wives/girlfriends. These guys are the top dogs in their sport - they're supposed to hook up with the alpha females. But then there are the Brett Tomkos of the world. With a 2-9 record and a 5.56 ERA, unless Tomko spends his off-seasons brokering peace in the Middle East (successfully), he just doesn't seem to deserve a gal like Julia Schultz.

So it's time to decide which crappy-to-mediocre athlete is the least worthy of his hot wife. Here are the rules/criteria:

  • While it's easy to make a snap judgment based on the hotness of the wife, the crappiness of the player must be given equal weight in the decision
  • The athlete has to be currently active
  • The wife has to have obtained some level of celebrity not related to being the athlete's wife (sorry Melissa Lima)
  • To avoid systematic bias, current or former Dodgers are not included

Here are the candidates in random order:

1) Tim Hasselbeck, NY Giants QB (wife Elisabeth) - The perennial clipboard holder (not to be confused with Super Bowl brother Matt) has a career completion percentage of 53.7% and hasn't thrown a regular season pass since 2003. But apparently he did connect with his most important pass - the one he made at college sweetheart and The View co-host Elisabeth.

2) Casey Daigle, Arizona Diamondbacks Pitcher (wife Jennie Finch) - Daigle has only had two short stints in the majors, compiling a 2-3 record and a 6.46 ERA in 20 career games. Meanwhile, überhot wife Jennie has a 0.41 career ERA for the US National Softball team.

3) Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns QB (wife Heather Kozar) - Couch, the #1 overall pick in the 1999 draft, had 67 career Int's vs 64 TD's and was out of the NFL within 5 years (he only qualifies for this poll because he's now attempting a comeback). Heather, who was Playmate of the Month in Jan '98 (incidentally, one month before Julia Schultz), gets bonus points for temporarily leaving Couch for Cade McNown, an even bigger bust from that same 1999 draft. Compared to McNown's "career" (7 Int's vs 5 TD's, out of the league in 2 years), Couch looks like Peyton Manning.

4) Paul Hospenthal, physical therapist (wife Danica Patrick) - Ok, so he's not even an athlete, but that's part of the point. Am I the only person who wonders how this guy ended up with Danica Patrick? I'm sure he's a nice guy, but not only was he 40 when he married the then-23-year-old Patrick, but he looks like an old Mark Hendrickson with a concave chest.

5) Sean Avery, NY Rangers center (girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert) - Some might say that thusfar, Avery has had a decent if unspectacular NHL career. However, in a recent Hockey News poll of 283 NHL players, he was voted both the most hated and the most overrated player in the league. Let's see...so-so as a player + asshole as a person = hookup with unspeakably hot 24 starlet Elisha Cuthbert? There is no justice in this world.

6) Mirsad Turkcan, Milwaukee Bucks forward (wife Dina Dzankovic) - Who's Mirsad Turkcan, you ask? Exactly, I answer. The 1998 1st round pick has scored 29 points...in his career. 29 points doesn't quite eclipse Michael Jordan's career average per game, but it's somehow good enough to snag the Miss World contestant pictured below.

Those are your choices. By the way, all these guys are actually playing for 2nd place in the battle for the Least Worthy. The identity of the pro athlete who, to me, is indisputably the least worthy of his hot wife will be revealed in a future post (anyone care to wager a guess?).

Who's least worthy?
Tim Hasselbeck
Casey Daigle
Tim Couch
Paul Hospenthal
Sean Avery
Mirsad Turkcan
  
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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Poll: What's in a Name?, Part II

If you missed the original Dodger Anagram Poll, you can still cast your vote. If you've been counting the days 'til the next one, well, you should be at about 34 by now.

But reset the counter, because Part II has arrived:

Which is your favorite anagram?
Milton Bradley = Notably Milder
Then again, nobody's thrown a water bottle at him lately.
Eric Gagne = Ginger Ace
175 saves, 1 Cy Young, and 2,483 trips to the DL in 9 year career.
Mike Scoscia = Ciao! Kiss Mice
Defects to Disney, wins World Series. Bastard.
Sons of Garvey = Vegans for Soy!
So that's the reason beer leads Dodger Dogs 33-8.
Lindsay Lohan = Lady Sin, An%l Ho
Back on the booze, back in the news. Couldn't leave her out.
  
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Poll: What's in a Name?

An anagram is a word or phrase whose letters can be re-arranged to form another word or phrase. Anagrams are not often the subject of sports blogs. But if you still talk about the day you discovered the letters in "Presbyterians" also spell "Britney Spears," AND you're a Dodger fan, then you should enjoy this one:

Which is your favorite Dodger anagram?
Eddie Murray = Rude Mid-year
Last week was the 2nd time he's been fired during the season.
Jose Offerman = Major Offense
Must be a reference to his repulsive fielding, not his 57 career HRs.
Darren Dreifort = Drafted in Error
Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. But feel free to verify.
Lasorda = LA's A-Rod?
They're tied 1-1 in Page Six sex scandals.
Olmedo S. Saenz = Dozens o' Meals
No commentary necessary.
  
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Poll: Who Looks Best Kicking Your Ass?

Here's a novel idea: Let's evaluate a number of very accomplished female athletes based not on their accomplishments, but rather on their physical appearance. But instead of the usual Anna Ks or Jennie Finches (or Amanda Beards, as per the recent post), let's look at women who compete against men. Here's a brief on the five contestants, in alphabetical order:

1. Milka Duno - Placed 31st in this year's Indianapolis 500. She's also a naval engineer with 4 masters degrees - just so you know.

2. Katie Hnida - Became the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I football game when she kicked two extra points for the University of New Mexico in 2003.

3. Danica Patrick - Of the contestants, she's the most famous and most successful vs the men, with 3 consecutive top-10 Indy 500 finishes. But remember, we're voting on looks, not fame or performance.

4. Manon Rheaume - Became the first woman to play in the NHL (or at least the preseason) when she was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992.

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