Monday, April 30, 2012
The Deadspin feature highlighted yet another umpire with local ties. Kind of.
Last week we told you about the Deadspin feature Better Know an Umpire because it profiled former Shorewood resident (and Shorewood Patch blogger) Mark Carlson. Today Deadspin turned its spotlight on Laz Diaz, who may be from Miami, but is best know for his run-in with Bolingbrook's own Eric Dybas. Deadspin backs us up on this too: "Diaz was attacked by a drunken fan during a game at US Cellular Field on April 15, 2003. Diaz, who was not hurt, later said, 'We spoke about it in the locker room, this is where Tom Gamboa got attacked. We thought nothing was going to happen, but it was a full moon out there.' Eric Dybas later pled guilty and got six months in jail." Deadspin calls this Diaz's "claim to fame," and we have to agree.
If Wally Backman ever gets a broadcast job it's probably going to have to be on HBO.
Before there was the Slammers (Shorewood's favorite professional baseball team!) there was the JackHammers. And the last manager in the JackHammers' glorious nine-year history was none other than New York Mets immortal (and fan favorite) Wally Backman. Well, this morning Deadspin posted a clip from "Playing For Peanuts Uncensored, the more swear-y version of the 2008 documentary that captured life with the South Georgia Peanuts." The video shows Backman, um, encouraging his team? Anyway, the way Deadspin puts it, "this latest clip of Wally working his motivational charms is decidedly NSFW." So click on this link at your own risk.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Shorewood's own Mark Carlson was featured today on Deadspin.
Major League Umpire, Most Interesting Man in Troy Township (2011) and erstwhile Shorewood Patch blogger Mark Carlson was spotlighted in Deadspin's ongoing feature Better Know an Umpire. The piece profiles Carlson's professional work, listing the leagues he umped in before making the bigs, his height and weight, uniform number, and this "claim to fame:" "Causing Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano to completely lose his mind in May 2009. Video showed Carlson's call was correct, and Zambrano was suspended for six games." While Carlson called Shorewood home while he was blogging for Shorewood Patch, we recently heard he and his family moved to Florida. We just gave him a call on his cell to ask but haven't heard back yet. Interestingly, the Deadspin…
Monday, February 13, 2012
These are some epic beards.
It was a few years ago we first saw the Epic Beard Man video on Deadspin, and now every time we see some guy sporting a abundant facial hair — especially if it's gray facial hair — we can't help but think of it. That's not to say anything about the relative epicness of any of the men pictured here. We have no idea whether they are epic or not. We do know what they supposedly did to go to jail. And we also know none of them are from Shorewood. But of course they aren't.
Friday, December 23, 2011
At least Champaign isn't Joliet, says Deadspin.
Deadspin, one of the greatest destinations on all of the Internet, highlighted ESPN's geographical ignorance and noted, "If there's one thing Champaign has going for it, it's the fact that it's not Joliet." Yes, but Champaign's not Shorewood either. And that's Champaign's loss.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Joliet's own Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger was sued by the SEC for his part in an alleged "pump and dump stock scheme, and is settling the case for hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Deadspin.
Deadspin reported on Friday night that Joliet native Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, "the former Notre Dame walk-on whose life became the basis of one of the greatest sports films of all time, has been sued by the SEC for his involvement in a 'pump-and-dump' stock scheme for his sports drink company, Rudy Nutrition." "If your childhood dreams were not already lost, then this should do it: Not even Rudy is innocent," Deadspin reported, relating how Ruettiger and a dozen others "founded the 'Rudy Nutrition' sports drink line in order to compete with Gatorade, and then defrauded investors by pumping up penny stock. They allegedly took in more than $11 million in 'illicit profits.'" Deadspin provided this link to the SEC's press release and noted …
son of a son of a cumbers
9:48 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
Stick with Tim Tebow as an idol and you'll never be disappointed. Also-Rudy Nutrition is not the snappiest of names. more ›