Sunday, February 24, 2013

Random Card Of The Day: Scottie Pippen Stadium Club 93-94 High Court


Preview: Upper Deck Football 2013

2013 Upper Deck Football releases in April and brings back some favorites from last year such as the College Mascots as it continues the series of them. It also brings a pretty impressive autograph list including the possible #1 pick in Geno Smith. The card set is 50 base cards and 200 rookies.




In a box you should find:

6 cards per pack
20 packs per box

Product Arrival Date:
April 9, 2013

Break Summary: (on average)
Three (3) Autographs in every box!


Get Four (4) 1995 SP Football or 1995 SP Prospects cards per box!
One (1) rare parallel numbered to 10 or less per case!


To find more info on this set..visit Upper Deck on Facebook
 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151186970893951.457294.61698633950&type=1

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Interesting Update on the Sandy "Hurricane Deductible"

Yesterday the NHC released an update to its hurricane reanalysis page which lists Sandy as a hurricane in the state of NY, but not NJ. The new update is consistent with the recent Sandy assessment, but far more back and white -- a storm is is or is not on the list as a hurricane.

In New York following Sandy this happened (emphasis added, and for more background go here):
The New York State Department of Financial Services and Governor Cuomo informed the insurance industry that hurricane deductibles should not be applied. The decision was based on the fact that the storm did not sustain hurricane-force winds while over New York.
The State and Governor were incorrect in that judgment, according to the NHC. What that implies is that a bunch of homeowers (technically/legally) may owe insurers a refund (if they have already been paid for losses) or are owed less in payments under their insurance policies (if they have not been paid).

In practice, there is unlikely to be a large public demand for enforcement of the hurricane deductible, and insurance companies may decide that it is not worth their effort, as most had their losses covered by reinsurers. Will any reinsurers take a closer look? I'd guess it is unlikely, and if they did we might never hear about it anyway.

As a case study in the application of "evidence-based policy" you won't find a better one than the hurricane deductible. Sometimes "evidence" matters, sometimes it does not. Sometime we care about whether it matters, sometimes we do not.

Contra Atheismum--Part 2: Pascal's Wager Reconsidered


Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. . ."
JOHN 6:68 ESV

Blaise Pascal is famous for his wager. It is very simple. If there is no God, the Christian and the atheist go to the grave. If God exists, the Christian goes to heaven while the atheist goes to hell. In short, the Christian has nothing to lose in believing, so being a believer is the smart way to bet. Naturally, it isn't this simple.

Atheists will point out that there are other possible gods other than the Christian deity, so being a Christian may anger Allah or Yahweh or Odin or whoever. In addition, it seems unlikely that God would honor the cynical faith of someone making a bet they simply wanted to win. Sincerity in belief must count for something.

It is not my aim to answer those objections or defend Pascal's wager. I never found the argument compelling or convincing. This is because of a fundamental problem with the argument. The rewards of Christian belief are probable because they are found in an afterlife that may not exist. The rewards of atheism are certain because they are found in this life which does exist. Those who use the wager argument never reckon with this issue. But I reckon with it.

The atheist argument is very simple. Atheism liberates you in this life to live however you please. Atheism does not promise you the loving care of a deity or the promise of life after death. But it does promise you freedom from guilt, moral dilemmas, and the like. In fact, freedom is the only thing atheism gives you because it can't give you anything else.

Atheism is essentially materialism. The only thing that exists is physical matter. There is no such thing as God or the immortal soul. You may as well add in other non-material abstractions such as truth, goodness, and beauty. Ultimately, these are merely sensations and opinions. All of life can be reduced to random processes,  molecules, DNA, etc. Happiness in this life is nothing more than hedonism. Pleasure is the only good. Pain is the only evil. Even these are merely the judgments of sensations since good and evil are just the responses of our nervous systems to various stimuli.

I think a better wager is to reconsider what Pascal was getting at with no appeal to the afterlife. Let's look at the stakes purely from the atheist standpoint that all that exists is this present world and this present life. What is there to gain from being an atheist as opposed to being a Christian? What makes the atheist stance more commendable than the stance of a religious person? In other words, how does atheism make you happier than religion?

The evidence is pretty overwhelming that religious people live happier lives than atheists. Polls indicate this. Religious people are healthier, more optimistic, and live better family and professional lives than atheists. Atheists tend to depression, angst, cynicism, and suicide. If religion is a delusion, it is a happy delusion. As such, the atheist has no counterargument to this. If hedonism is the rule, you should be religious because it makes your life more pleasant. This is essentially the truth behind Marx's claim that religion is the opiate of the masses.

I know of few atheists who champion theft, murder, and rape as good things, so atheists claim to unbridled freedom is ultimately bogus. Atheists are quite happy with morality when it serves their purpose such as the protection of their property and persons. But they don't like morality or religion when it comes to their sex lives or which substances they want to put in their bodies. So, for the sake of an orgasm and a marijuana high, atheists expunge religion.

Now, I am sure there are atheists who would disagree with my reductionism of their reductionist philosophy of life. They would make the claim that we must believe in things that are true and not believe in things that are false. But this is a moral stance that belies their worldview. Why should I choose a less pleasant life for the sake of truth? Why is truth higher than pleasure?

I do believe that truth is higher than pleasure, but this belief comes from my religion. It can never come from atheism. If you believe in either truth or pleasure, it only makes sense to believe in God. To not believe in God is to forsake both truth and happiness which is why atheists tend to misery and lies. As I pointed out in part 1, atheism is self refuting. Will this be a persuasive argument to the atheist? Of course not.

The best answer that an atheist can give to this argument is to point out that it is possible to have a pleasant life without religion. This would be Epicurus. That will be addressed in another part of Contra Atheismum. But the atheist must also admit that it is possible to have a pleasant life with religion. So, the choice is clear. Is it better to have an unpleasant truth or a pleasant lie? And if the choice is between an unpleasant lie and a pleasant lie, isn't the pleasant lie better? And what if there exists a pleasant truth? The only right answer to this thorn bush of dilemmas is the Catholic answer.

NOTES

Random Card Of The Day: Jay Buhner Pacific Collection 1995


Friday, February 22, 2013

Random Card Of The Day: Tom Gordon 1989 Score Rookie


Thursday, February 21, 2013

@InsideSportsLaw

Fellow sports lawyers, the Sports Law Blog has been a leading site for delivering cutting edge commentary and insight in the field of sports law.  As this leading site celebrates its 10th Anniversary in November, with the support of our Editor-in-Chief Michael McCann, we decided it was time to expand our efforts to brand and promote the tremendous talents of our contributors.

A natural first step was to generate a Twitter handle and feed for ourselves.  Thus, today, we are happy to announce the launch of the official "The Sports Law Blog" Twitter feed -- @InsideSportsLaw.  The goal is to generate additional attention to both the information we post on our website, as well as promoting the industry's leaders in the field of sports law--our writers.

While the use of this Blog, the newly created Twitter account, and other related future efforts will evolve over time, we hope that our efforts to offer both insight and commentary on the world of sports law remain unparalleled.

TASTY LITTLE BUBBLES OF ENERGY


There are hundreds of energy drinks on the market, many the equivalent of putting gasoline in your tank... literally. The energy high comes with a crashing low, that is both physically and mentally depleting. There are a number though, like E-Boost, David Kirsch's Energy Bubbles and ZipFizz, with all natural ingredients that offer their pick-me-up power not with heart racing stimulants and chemicals, but vitamins, minerals and herbs recognized for a variety of additional health benefits. The ones I like are all individually packaged for on-the-go convenience and easily mixed with water. They are all refreshingly tasty as well! 

DAVID KIRSCH ENERGY BUBBLES. From fitness and nutritional guru David Kirsch comes this effervescent orange flavored drink that provides a natural energy boost. David’s formula contains Taurine, Panax Ginseng, B6, B12 and other vitamins and nutrients to naturally energize both body and mind. It also has the special addition of chromium to help reduce body fat and build muscle.  ENERGY BUBBLES are a perfect pick me up before or during your workout, or any other time of day.

EBOOST. Available in Super Berry, Orange, Pink Lemonade and Acai Pomegranate, in the convenience of a shot or powder, EBOOST is packed with energy vitamins like C, D and B12, and super-nutrients like Green Tea, Quercetin, 5-HTP and Resveratrol, recognized for their anti-oxidant, immune and mood boosting benefits. EBOOST is sweetened with Stevia and contains no sugar, artificial flavors or colors.

ZIPFIZZ. I recently discovered this product at the Outdoor Retailer show, initially attracted by the cool packaging. ZIPFIZZ is an all-natural, great tasting drink-mix powder that delivers a revitalizing burst of energy to the body's fuel system. Promoted as a hydrating energy drink, ZIPFIZZ is super charged with Vitamin C, B12 and potassium, among other ingredients especially beneficial for those traveling to high altitude (as I can attest having tested it out on a recent trip to Snowmass, CO). It comes in a variety of delicious flavors as well!

ACLI-MATE. Another great one for preventing high-altitude symptoms, I discovered ACLI-MATE in the very lofty ski resort of Crested Butte, CO. Available in a variety of tasty flavors, ACLI-MATE Mountain Sport drink contains the hydrating and energizing vitamins B and C, CoQ10, AND potassium, in addition to select botanicals like Rhodiola root, Schizandra berry and Ginko leaf extracts that provide a hydrating boost of energy both on and off the mountain.

EMERGEN-C. Really the original, this immune boosting blend of Vitamin C, nutrients, electrolytes and anti-oxidents, naturally replenish energy levels and enhance metabolic functions. Now available in a multitude of flavors like Tangerine, Mangosteen, Pink Lemonade and Triple Berry Blue, there is the tried and true Original Formula, in addition to Specialty blends like Multi-Vitamin and the sport specific Electro Mix. 

Follow me on Twitter @STYLEOFSPORT

How Fast Does Energy Access Occur?

The figure above was shown by Morgan Bazilian, Deputy Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, in his talk at our Center today (details plus a webcast of the talk here). It comes from Chapter 19 of the 2012 Global Energy Assessment by IIASA (here in PDF).

The graph shows for 10 countries the historical growth in energy access. In 1920, only 35% of Americans had energy access (here shown as "electricity access" defined as "household electrification"). This total reached 100% by the mid-1950s. In contrast, Mexico was at about 35% access in 1930, and has yet to get all the way to the 100% mark. China went from 35% in 1970 to 100% by about 2005, a very similar rate to that of the United States. You can see India is following a much shallower trajectory, going from about 25% in 1980 to 65% in 2010.

How fast can energy access occur? These data provide some insight into that question.

24/24; recovery

LC 2x20kg, 2x24kg: 5 reps each weight

SC jerk 2x32kg: 2,4,4,4,4,2

Clean 2x32kg: 5,5,5.4,5

in sum: 24 jerk, 24 clean

Goblet squat 16kg: 2x 10reps

Still recovering from the Disease (a flu or cold). The fever is gone and wanted to try some lifting. It was nice to haul some iron again, but my cardio was bad. I lost somewhere between 2, or 3kg, in bodyweight so I am down at 80,5kg. A long time since I got ill like this. Will make me appreciate even more when I'm healthy.

FANdom Card Of The Day: 2011 Topps Supreme Autographed Relics Red #SARSR Stevan Ridley


Stevan Ridley had a break out season this year. It will be very interesting to see what he brings to the table next season.

2011 Topps Supreme Autographed Relics Red #SARSR Stevan Ridley #01/20
 
If you want to own this card go to this link:

 
Thanks to Jammin JDcard for providing us with the FANdom Card Of The Day

MLB World Series Prize Group # 1 Revealed

We finally put together the winnings for Group #1 of our MLB World Series Contest. Group #2's will be similar to this. The value of this lot is around $70. We tried to make it worth your time. Good Luck and we hope you enjoy!

Those of you involved in this contest right now in Group #1 are listed here:

http://sportcardcollectors.blogspot.com/2013/02/mlb-world-series-team-results.html

Unopened Donruss 1990 pack
4 base cards from Golden Age..just because they look nice
A lot of 80's and 90's stars



Jeff Conine Gold Parallel from Upper Deck '09 numbered to 99.
This is the Pink Error card.





Daily Fantasy Sports and the Law: The First Legal Challenge

On March 21, 2012, Illinois lawyer Chris Langone filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Fan Duel and one of its purported winners, Patrick Kaiser.  The lawsuit seeks to recover the third-party losses of Fan Duel's contestants based on Illinois's version of the Statute of Anne -- a common law statute that sometimes allows third parties to recover unclaimed winnings from illegal gambling transactions.

The posture of this case resembles the 2006 case Humphrey v. Viacom, with two major differences: (1) case is brought in Illinois rather than New Jersey, and (2) the case is brought against a daily fantasy sports game rather than a traditional, full-season fantasy game.

Fan Duel has filed a motion to dismiss that argues, among other things, that its games should not fall under Illinois gambling losses recovery statute because its games involve predominantly skill.

This week, I have written several articles on this case and its implications over at Forbes.  For more on the specifics and the merits of the parties' respective arguments, please see the following three sources:

1.  Marc Edelman, Will New Lawsuit Help to Clarity the Legal Status of Daily Fantasy Sports, Forbes, Feb. 19, 2013.

2.  Marc Edelman, Did Comcast Invest in Fan Duel Too Soon, Forbes, Feb. 20, 2013.

3.  Marc Edelman, A Short Treatise on Fantasy Sports and the Law: How America Regulates its New National Pastime, 3 Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law 1 (2011).

Random Card Of The Day: Tommy Lasorda Topps 1983


February Contest Winners+Notes

We are sad to say that our February Contest has officially ended. And boy, what ups and downs we have seen throughout. People moving from first place to last to first. This was probably the best month yet. And the ending was much more thrilling than last months. All Top 3 heading into last night did not end up in the Top 3 in the end. As we stated throughout, anyone can win. With pretty much everyone gambling it all away, a few didn't enter, some not gambling anything and one other who gambled just enough to put themselves into third it was a lot of fun to see the ending here. Not to mention, the game picked was perfect as it was a huge upset win for Nevada.

Enough with the rambling for us. Now onto the winners...

Big congrats goes out to..

1st Place: Miami Vice

2nd Place: Chrisdawg7

3rd Place: J.J. Hernandez

Alright guys, gonna need your addresses emailed to us to sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com! You also have 7 Days to claim your prize from this date or your prize will be re-given away.

Now, a few other important notes while we have your attention. We are considering moving the March Contest to 25 days...please say Yay Or Nay in comments so we can judge how you feel about this move. We already have one Yay. We thought it would close the gap in between the contests.

Speaking of March Contest, the prize lot will be announced on February 26th.  We hope all of you will return. We are also upping the entries to 20 a day to have three winners. If we can maintain that number, we easily did it this month, we will have three winners. If we can maintain 30 or more a day, we might award more prizes. Hopefully we can grab everyones attention and spread the word. And hopefully most return on a daily basis. And in March....there will also be an extra twist being our Blogversary and all.

And as for the MLB World Series Contest, we see that some of you are wondering if you can get into the second group. This is what we were going to do..we would like at least 25 new entries. But the last 5 we will randomly select winners from our February Contest who played consistently on a daily basis and give them a extra slot to show our thanks.

Once again, THANK YOU for your support on a daily basis. We appreciate all of you and try to show you our thanks the best way we can. Keep up the RT'ing on Twitter, Sharing on Facebook, and just word of mouth on our blog.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Front Porch Living

Stylus/Ektar Test Shots
Walking through our neighbourhood, it's always interesting to see how many people store their bicycles out on the porch. Passing one particular block, it seemed like every other house had one. Occasionally readers ask whether storing a bike on the porch is a good idea, especially in the winter months. And as usual, it depends. 

Indoor bike storage can be tough around here, so it's understandable that for many the porch offers a happy compromise. The bike is protected from precipitation by a roof, so it won't be soaking wet or covered in snow come morning. It is on private property and not out in the street, which offers some peace of mind. And it doesn't take up valuable storage space indoors. 

Stylus/Ektar Test Shots
But a porch does not make a bike theft-proof or immune to the elements. It goes without saying that the bike should be locked up securely, ideally with a thick chain. And if you live near salt water, or in an area that gets heavily salted in winter, rust will form despite the roof cover. Components may still freeze, due to moisture getting into them. I have also heard accounts (though have never seen this with my own eyes) of steel bicycle tubes distorting when left outdoors through the winter - most likely due to water condensing, then freezing inside the tubing. 

The best candidates for porch living are either beater bikes that you do not care about damaging, or heavy-duty utility bikes with thick tubing, durable paint, and rust-resistant components. Both categories also have some built-in theft protection by virtue of being perceived as too unappealing or heavy to steal. Personally, I would not hesitate to store a bike on my porch, if I had one - though not a delicate or expensive one. And not one heavy enough to make the porch cave in... something I saw the other day during one of my walks.

Presentation to Northwestern Sports Law Society

I will be at Northwestern University School of Law tomorrow (Thursday), presenting The Economics of the Infield Fly Rule to NU's Sports Law Society as part of Sports Law Society Week. The program runs from 12:10-1:20. Feel free to stop by if you are in Chicago.

Slate on Indian Mascots

Following up on our discussions of Indian mascots, this week's Slate Hang Up and Listen podcast includes a segment (starting at 34:10) on the controversy, featuring Dr. Ellen Staurowsky, a professor of sports management at Drexel University (Ellen also was kind enough to contribute an excellent chapter for my book on Duke lacrosse). It is a good conversation, touching on many of the issues of Indian self-concept and self-image that Alex mentions in his post.

Worth a listen.

What is Basic Research?

Basic research is a political symbol. What is a "political symbol"? I explain the notion of a political symbol in my recent paper on basic research (here in PDF):
Elder and Cobb (1983) define a symbol as: ‘‘any object used by human beings to index meanings that are not inherent in, nor discernible from, the object itself.’’ They continue:
Literally anything can be a symbol: a word or a phrase, a gesture or an event, a person, a place, or a thing. An object becomes a symbol when people endow it with meaning value or significance.
In his classic essay, Sapir (1934) distinguishes two types of symbols, referential and condensational. Referential symbols are ‘‘economical devices for purposes of reference.’’ So each of the following is an example of a referential symbol - @, ?, &, Z, WORD, ;-). A second type of symbol distinguished by Sapir is one that carries with it ‘‘emotional tension in conscious or unconscious form.’’ Examples of such symbols would include 9/11, a swastika, the American flag, and your name. Sapir asserts that ‘‘society is peculiarly subject to the influence of symbols in such emotionally charged fields as religion and politics.’’

Lasswell et al. (1952) define ‘‘key political symbols’’ as those which occur ‘‘in the flow of political statements,’’ and distinguish three types: symbols of identification (referring to people and groups), symbols of demand (referring to preferences and volitions) and symbols of expectation (referring to assumptions of fact).
Basic research serves as a symbol of identification, demand and expectation (see the paper for discussion, but I am sure that you can think of many examples). Its plasticity means that it fulfills multiple roles simultaneously, as shown in the following table (from this essay in PDF).

So basic research is no one thing, and as such it can be fruitlessto argue over its exact meaning. Similarly,other political symbols -- 9/11, the American flag, a swastika -- carry with them many meanings, some contradictory and irreconcilable.

In the politics of science "basic research" -- and its variants in use today such as fundamental research and transformative research -- allow scientists to claim to be following their curiosity wherever it may lead, while policy makers can claim something quite different, namely that funding such work is "basic" or "fundamental" to economic growth and other societal benefits. The agreement to carry contradictory definitions at once is a key factor in the stability of post-World War II science policy (and how we got the linear model). However, as budgets get tighter and the public demands accountability and results that stability has shown signs of strain.

The popularization of "basic research" via Vannevar Bush's seminal 1945 report Science--The Endless Frontier was no accident. Again quoting from my paper:
Bush explained that he made an explicit decision to use the phrase ‘‘basic research’’ because of its malleability in political discourse. Bush wrote in his memoirs of this explicit decision (Bush 1970):
To persuade the Congress of the pragmatically inclined United States to establish a strong organization to support fundamental research would seem to be one of the minor miracles… When talking matters over with some of these [people on Capitol Hill], it was well to avoid the word fundamental and to use basic instead.
Bush’s semiotic innovation is well grounded in political theory. Lasswell (1969) observes ‘‘ambiguity is an aid to concerted action.’’ He continues, ‘‘A high degree of generality is essential to popular appeal; symbols must be sufficiently vague to enable the individual to transfer his private loves and hates and hopes and fears to the slogans and catchwords of the movement.’’
So what is "basic research"?

It is motherhood, apple pie and all that is good. It is, as Brian Cox would say, axiomatically a good thing. As such, "basic research" as a political symbol has proven to be a big obstacle to science policy research. After all, why question something that is axiomatically good? What are you, anti-science? Further, the inherent virtue of basic research means that precise knowledge of mechanisms of that goodness are not needed.

If decisions about science and utilizing science are to be systematically evaluated and refined, it will be necessary to move beyond political symbols. But political symbols, obviously, are powerful things.

A Call to Action

NCAA President Mark Emmert's leadership, and lack of accountability, surrounding his organization's investigation into the University of Miami was an embarrasment to those of us in higher education.  Thankfully, the good folks at The Huffington Post have provided me an outlet to rant.

The result is the following piece, titled "A Call to Action" where I advocate that it's time for Emmert to go; and since he's declared he won't resign, the NCAA Executive Committee needs to take action.  Feel free to lobby the members, who are listed here.

More on the significance of defining sport

The surprising and controversial announcement that wrestling is being dropped from the core Olympic programme effective with the 2020 Summer Games made me think that we may have found a reason why it matters whether something is a sport or not: Whether something is a sport (as opposed to a game or a competition) should be a tiebreaking factor when choosing between two events. In other words, when the IOC is deciding between wrestling and, say, synchronized ballroom dancing, the former wins out because it is a sport and the other is not.

MLB World Series Team Results!

We know there was some confusion with our contest rules. We had people picking teams, not realizing that the contest is open to US Residents only (all of our contests are like this due to shipping costs and a couple of bad experiences with shipping out of country. We apologize profusely for this rule but we have got to keep it in place) below every contest post it says this. If any of participants in group one missed this direction please let us know.

Now onto the good news! Here are the 30 involved in our World Series promo! If we get more entries, great! We will start a second group. But the group would have to hit 30 to count. But if it did we would award two prizes. So keep spreading the word and enter!

Here are the 30 participants in Group 1:

Group 1:
jeremaih johnson
@yorkcounty46
@KentRitchie1
Harold Tourjee
Thomas Young
J.J. Hernandez
Scott N.
@markloftus
@JdoggNoland
Jamie B.
frostee12
Miami Vice
Chunter
@cincyboy1976
@dwebb24
@wphilpot20
@jeffgehringer
@band234
@strowyrm
Super Tom
John Webb
@BigNoah  
@scottsupra
William Rose
@R5eightlane
@Seahawksfan605
Mark DeBarge
@fitchjr1 
KMH
Max T.

Here are the results after 3 times randomizing:
There were 30 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
  1. @Seahawksfan605
  2. Jamie B.
  3. Super Tom
  4. @band234
  5. jeremaih johnson
  6. John Webb
  7. @markloftus
  8. @fitchjr1
  9. Scott N.
  10. Chunter
  11. J.J. Hernandez
  12. @scottsupra
  13. @yorkcounty46
  14. Max T.
  15. @BigNoah
  16. @wphilpot20
  17. William Rose
  18. @KentRitchie1
  19. Thomas Young
  20. @R5eightlane
  21. Miami Vice
  22. frostee12
  23. @cincyboy1976
  24. @JdoggNoland
  25. Harold Tourjee
  26. @dwebb24
  27. Mark DeBarge
  28. @jeffgehringer
  29. @strowyrm
  30. KMH
Timestamp: 2013-02-20 17:58:37 UTC
You have randomized this list 3 times.

Now what happens, is the first person on the list gets to pick ANY MLB team they think will win the World Series. Once that team has been chosen, they are off the list. Then the next person chooses a team and so on. Please do not pick a team until it is your turn. We will publish any team selections immediately so you will know whos been chosen.

As for the prize, we will hopefully post a picture on here soon. Look for updates we will post when we have a prize lot picture ready.

Good Luck and get your teams selected below here in comments. First pick, @Seahawksfan605 you are up first!

*Contest Open To US Residents Only! Sorry!

Here is the list of MLB Teams remaining: We update this daily.
  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Atlanta Braves
  • Anaheim Angels-Jamie B
  • Baltimore Orioles
  • Boston Red Sox
  • Chicago Cubs
  • Chicago White Sox
  • Cinncinnati Reds
  • Cleveland Indians
  • Colorado Rockies
  • Detroit Tigers
  • Houston Astros
  • Kansas City Royals
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Miami Marlins
  • Milwaukee Brewers
  • Minnesota Twins
  • New York Mets
  • New York Yankees
  • Oakland Athletics
  • Philadelphia Phillies
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • San Diego Padres
  • San Francisco Giants
  • Seattle Mariners
  • St. Louis Cardinals
  • Tampa Bay Rays
  • Texas Rangers
  • Toronto Blue Jays
  • Washington Nationals-@Seahawksfan605

Interesting Timing to be Removed from GEC Editorial Board

Five days ago I critiqued a shoddy paper by Brysse et al. 2013 which appeared in the journal Global Environmental Change. Today I received notice from the GEC editor-in chief and executive editor that I have been asked to "step down from the Editorial Board." They say that it is to "give other scientists the chance to gain experience of editorial duties."

Over the past 20 years I have served on the editorial boards of about a dozen or so academic journals. I have rolled off some when my term was up, and continued for many years with others. I have never received a mid-term request to step down from any journal. My 6 years with the GEC editorial board is not long in academia, and certainly much shorter than many other serving members.

Are my critique and the request to step down related? I can't say. It is interesting timing to be sure. Perhaps it is an odd coincidence. Perhaps not. I did reply by accepting their request and asking the following two questions which might help to clarify the terms of my release:
Could you tell me which other members of the editorial board are being asked to step down at this time? And also, could you tell how many others have served on the board 6 years or longer and remain on the board?
If I get a reply I will update this post.
UPDATE: I just checked the GEC editorial board from 2005, the year before I was invited to join ($ here). There are 13 members of the 2005 board who continue through 2013 ($ here). If those 13 members (of 38 total in 2013) have not all be asked to "step down" at this time, then yes, I am getting "special" treatment.
UPDATE 2: Neil Adger, editor of GEC, replies to explain, contrary to the earlier email, that I have been removed from the editorial board due to a perception of my "waning interest in the journal" citing my declining of 3 reviews last year (I'd guess overall that I declined 50 or more requests to review last year and took on about 12, welcome to academia;-).  Of course, he could have asked about my interest before removing me from the Board. He did not comment on my critical blog post. I take his response to mean that I am indeed the only one who has been removed at this time. So there you have it, another climate ink blot. Coincidence? You be the judge.
UPDATE 3: Neil Adger has written a second email to me which has has asked me to post in the comments here. My response to him is here. And here is the original email from GEC dropping me from the Board. All info is in sight, people can make up their own minds about this academic tempest in a teapot.
I am of course happy to make way for other scientists to "gain the experience of editorial duties." However, if my critique of a GEC paper is in any way related to my removal from the editorial board, then the message being sent to those other scientists is pretty chilling. For my part, I value my academic freedom to offer critique as I see things far more than being allowed into certain clubs.

NBA trade deadline Clippers end Kevin Garnett trade talks

The Los Angeles Clippers have terminated talks with the Boston Celtics on a Kevin Garnett for Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan trade for now.

The Celtics have been eager to continue the conversation on the deal, but league sources said the talks will remain dormant unless Clippers star Chris Paul pushes the issue with management.

Several prominent executives and coaches with championship contenders told Yahoo! Sports they believe the Clippers would become more dangerous with Garnett.

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro is a proponent of the deal, too, sources said.

The Celtics won't consider moving Garnett to the Clippers for any other combination of players, and won't revisit the talks unless Bledsoe and Jordan are in the package, sources said.
Boston hasn't approached Garnett to waive his no-trade clause without an agreement in place, but there's strong belief he would ultimately agree to it. What's more, Boston could simply trade Paul Pierce and leave Garnett with even less desire to finish his career with a young, rebuilding roster.

Trade on Twitter...

Recently made a great trade with a great guy I found on Twitter known as . If you haven't followed him yet, you should. Loves to talk sports and the hobby. I don't normally trade and usually when approached I tell them that. But I do consider it sometimes. Its hard to know who to trust in this online world without going to specific sites such as Beckett to let you know if the person is a good trader or not.

This time with a persistent inquiry about this card I decided to take the chance. Glad I did despite some ups and downs with it. By this I mean the USPS system almost killed this trade and my reputation by almost losing my card. His cards to me got to me within 3 days, mine took over a week and the tracking for mine never showed up until the day of delivery. And because of this, I don't think I will trade again online with the risk of it almost being lost. I may reconsider again in the future, but for right now I probably won't.But it was great that understood and waited.

Embedded image permalink
This is the one that he wanted desperately for his Topps Chrome auto collection and rookie QB PC. So he threw me a few offers and we were able to come to terms after I gave it much, much thought because I really did like this card. So he got the Osweiler Black refractor auto #25 and a few Topps Chrome refractor set needs and I got the following:

New Rueben Randles to increase the PC:




Another Eli relic.I only have 2. Now three :)


2 bonuses he threw in:
And one of my favorite cards from the lot despite having been released from the Giants # to 10

This was a trade I couldn't refuse. It helped both of us with our PC's. And I recommend to anyone to trade with him as well!

Let me know how you have done online trading outside of specific sites. And have you found bad traders? A bad time with USPS? And thoughts on this trade as well. Did you think this trade was even or one sided?

FANdom Card Of The Day: Paul Hornung Press Pass Legends Of The Fall Autograph


Old School and Red Ink - Oh my!

2011 Press Pass Legends Legends of the Fall Auto Red Ink #LOFPH Paul Hornung


If you want to own this sweet card...follow the link:
http://bit.ly/WUDoAN

February 20th 2013 FINAL DAY!!

FINAL DAY! WE would like to thank everyone for participating this month. It has been a lot of fun. We encourage those of you who are now eliminated to come back next month. One way to keep up on when we post a new day is to subscribe to the blog. Many of you will enter a day or two then get done. If you don't follow us on Twitter or Facebook or Subscribe you will never know when a new day is up. We appreciate all of our fans! Next month is our Blogversary so look for a special twist involved.

As for today, only those of you whose names are in bold or bold color are eligible to win today. Yesterdays loss knocked some of you out. Which if Michigan State had held on most of you would have been eliminated for today. As for our decision on the other eliminations, we wouldn't think it was fair to the rest of you if someone who enters once on the first day wins so most of them were eliminated. We allowed some to move on to make things interesting. They were randomly picked.

Alright. Once again, you are bidding up to the amount of points you have. Anyone can win still. The biggest question remains...how much are you willing to risk for this Womens basketball game?

Who wins this NCAA Womens game:

Nevada @ Frenso State

Entries due by 10:00 pm e.t.

*Contests open to US Residents only! 

In event of any ties for any of the top 3 spots...the game will continue til there are three straight out winners!! Good Luck!!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Leo Babauta on Life Without Facebook

Living in a Facebook-less world is an interesting experience. I’m certainly not alone — others have quit too, and still others never joined.

I no longer am as in touch with what family members halfway around the world are doing on a daily basis — I hear about the most important stuff through email or phones, but the little interesting details are lost. But so are the other details I’m not as interested in, and in my experience, the noise of Facebook outweighs the signal about 10-to-1.



Leo has written an interesting post here on how things have gone for him without Facebook. Like Leo, I also quit Facebook, and I have had positive results from the experience. Unlike Leo, I also eschew the other social networking platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc.

I don't know how to describe it, but I suppose it is how a smoker feels when they give up the cigarettes. They notice the freshness of the air and how good it feels to breathe. This is what life online feels like without Facebook.

These are the steps I have taken to simplify my online life recently:

--Went off Facebook
--Pared down to one blog
--Ended comments on the blog
--Cut my news feed on my Google Reader to whatever Google News spits out

Things are much quieter and more manageable for me as a result of these changes. I admit that I am probably missing out on some things as I don't spend time following them anymore. But I am not hermetically sealed in a chamber either.

I can't say what I have missed. What I can say is that I have never run out of things to read, and I have not missed out on the things that really mattered to me. I can also say that I have missed things because I was spending too much time on Facebook. All things considered, leaving Facebook has been a good thing for me.

Local Give-Away: Basil Tour Panniers

I've received an extra set of sample panniers from the Dutch bicycle accessory manufacturer Basil, to give away locally as I see fit. Can't decide who to give them to, so will use the blog and pick randomly. Local readers, this one's for you:

Basil Tour Panniers 
silver and black
32cm x 12cm x 32cm
26L capacity

Reinforced construction in durable water-repellent 600D polyester; zipper side pockets, double reflective stripes on all sides, bands for LED/ straps/ child's seat. The panniers are a unit, connecting over the top of a rear rack. Inner edges are tapered to prevent heel strike on bikes with shorter chainstays. Good for commuting or touring. 

Give-away terms:

1. You must be reasonably local, as defined by coming to claim the panniers in person from Broadway Bicycle in Cambridge MA. 

2. You must have ridden your bike at least once since February 8th, of which you must supply photographic or verbally descriptive evidence in the comments here.

Otherwise, that's it. Hopefully, this will be a little pick me up for someone braving the snowy weather! If you'd like the panniers, leave a comment between now and 11:59pm tomorrow night (February 20th, 2012), and don't forget to include your email address. I will pick from eligible entries at random.

Basil is making an effort to streamline their North American distribution and we should be seeing more of their products in local bike shops soon. Many thanks to them for the sample panniers, and I hope the recipient enjoys them. 

More on the Redskins and Indian Mascots

The following is by my colleague Alex Pearl; Alex is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and writes and teaches on Indian Law.

As mentioned here, the National Museum of the American Indian held a symposium entitled “Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports.”  In this post I am limiting the discussion to the Redskins specifically and sports mascots generally.  I have to plug the comprehensive blog, Native Appropriations, which examines representations of Indigenous Peoples in popular culture generally, including sports.

I’ve lost count of how many times the two entrenched sides of the Indian mascots debate have made their arguments.  The arguments of the respective camps can be summarized as follows.  Pro-Indian Mascots: We are honoring you and we have a connection to the team name, if you are offended then that is political correctness run amok.  Anti-Indian Mascots: We are not being honored and your connection to the team name is ridiculous.  In the interest of full disclosure, I’m an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma (i.e., I’m an Indian).

            At the Symposium, one participant had this to say, “[i]f Dan Snyder truly thinks the word ‘Redskins’ is anhonorific, I challenge him to attended the next meeting of the NationalCongress of American Indians and try using that word to people’s faces.  Of course, Dan Snyder (nor anyone from the Pro-Indian Mascot camp) is coming to the Symposium or any other majority-Indian meeting. Which brings me to my point that the two sides are simply talking past each other.  They maintain mutually exclusive positions regarding a disagreement about a subjective value judgment. 

            I think there are opportunities for advancing the debate in an objective way.  There is research performed by Dr. Stephanie Fryberg and others that examine the effects of American Indian mascots on “aspects of the self-concept for American Indian students.” [Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots, available at http://www.indianmascots.com/fryberg__web_psychological.pdf].  Here’s the abstract findings from her jointly authored paper:

When exposed to Chief Wahoo, Chief Illinwek, Pocahontas, or other common American Indian images, American Indian students generated positive associations (Study 1, high school) but reported depressed state self-esteem (Study 2, high school), and community worth (Study 3, high school), and fewer achievement-related possible selves (Study 4, college). We suggest that American Indian mascots are harmful because they remind American Indians of the limited ways others see them and, in this way, constrain how they can see themselves.

Dr. Fryberg was not at the Symposium held at the NMAI.   While I think the symposium does some good by focusing on the cultural gulf existing between Indian and non-Indian society, I think it would be more worthwhile for there to be greater emphasis on the type of research performed by Dr. Fryberg and others.  Moving the debate beyond “This mascot doesn’t honor me” to “This mascot causes empirically demonstrable psychological harm to Indian youth” is, in my view, preferred.  As an added bonus, studies like these may provide evidentiary support for the more recently filed action, Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., seeking to cancel the trademarks affiliated with the Washington Redskins

            As Sally Jenkins pointed out in her Washington Post article, many potentially influential people have raised this issue and suggested a name change.  However, the franchise, and accompanying branding and trademarks, is simply too valuable to change.  Unless there is a significant intervening economic event, like the Blackhorsecase prevailing, substantial fines by the NFL, or boycotts by fans and ticket holders the mascot is not going to change.  All this moral weight and scientific evidence will not trump the economic bottom line.

[SOC] Malachi Martin, Work, Utopia, Good and Evil

I am cold right now. I have my hoodie and my superhat on. My wife made the superhat, but she steals my hoodie all the time. Most of the time, I end up wearing a black fleece jacket which looks more like a sweater that I picked up from Walmart for 10 bucks.

I have been reading up a bit on the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and all the conspiracy theories and the rest swirling around. In my search, I came across this classic episode of Coast to Coast AM that is an interview between Art Bell and Malachi Martin:



My wife and I love Coast to Coast AM. It has a creep factor that can only come from talk radio listened to late at night. This episode is one of the creepiest I have ever listened to because it deals with the topic of exorcism. If you want the full effect, listen to it in a dark room at night. Scary stuff.

The issue of work has also been on my mind lately. Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." People have a moral duty to do good work even if the people they are working for are immoral. Work should be a sanctified activity. I like this article because it sums up what should be our attitude towards work.

I don't know if I am a good worker or not. I have never worked for anyone who ever said I was any good. If I actually listened to those people, I would be so demoralized that I would quit on the spot. The only thing that will ever satisfy a boss is working for nothing. All workers are hated because they are paid. So, I discount the opinions of all bosses and managers on this basis. I do my best for the sake of morality not because of what some boss wants from me. I've seen people who have done outstanding work get abused by the ungrateful people over them. It is what it is.

You have to do your work as unto the Lord because to do otherwise is to become discouraged. You find yourself in a workplace surrounded by slackers seeking to render the least amount they can per hour, and you can't say anything because they toil for people seeking to pay the least amount they can per hour. It's like a bartender watering down the whiskey for the guy who is going to pay him in counterfeit money. You're not really sure who is right and who is wrong in that exchange.

I want to say that if you fight the good fight that you will receive your just reward in this life, but I know better. I have seen slackers promoted while good people have been terminated. This is true of every place I have worked, and it is true for many other people who tell me similar stories. If you dwell on it for long, it will make you angry. Since you can't do anything about it, this anger only turns into depression.

Doing your work as unto the Lord takes you out of that situation and puts you someplace else. Morality must be unilateral. You have to be good even if no one else is good. You can tell yourself that you will be a shining example for others, but the reality is that people will simply slander you. I can usually tell the good people in an operation by the level of hatred they provoke in the evildoers. My old boss who was the only good guy I have ever had as a boss was universally loved by his workers and universally despised by his peers and upper management. I suspect that their consciences were troubling them which is why they hated him so much. The darkness abhors the light.

Being a good worker will not win you praise from your boss or respect from your peers. In fact, it will probably get you the opposite. The only people who praise a good worker are the ones who are good workers themselves. The result is a division between the producers who get things done and the parasites who are along for a ride at the expense of others. It has always been this way, and it will always be this way until the end of the world.

I believe that most people in both management and among the labor pool are evil. The wicked outnumber the good, and the wicked always look out for each other. This state of things extends to the larger society as well. There is more evil than good in the world.

The temptation in these things is to try and seize power or foment a revolution to change things. But this is utopian thinking. Utopian thinking is always present when people talk about making changes to the "system." There is always some call for a change in laws, rules, and policies as if any society or organization was like a stew that would finally taste good if we could just find the right combination of ingredients. But the problem is that the stew is made from the raw sewage of human nature. No amount of salt or sauce will ever remedy that problem.

The only thing that can make any society or organization better is the presence of good people, and people only become good by the grace of God. This is what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This is why you should be a good worker in a company filled with bad workers and Machiavellian managers. Good people despair only because they imagine these evil people as being happy. But they are not happy. There is no happiness in evil.

Evil eats itself. If you were to remove the remnant of good workers from a bad company, that place would collapse as parasites attempt to feed off one another. The parasites know this which is why they will hate the good people, but they are desperate to keep them. They can't bring themselves to admire the good because this would also make it necessary to emulate the good. But they can't do without the good because they need the good to keep things going. The result is a great deal of sniveling on the part of the evil.

I watched all of this with my old boss. They hated him, but they needed him. He was always fair and good to them, and they were always bad to him. Eventually, he found employment elsewhere, and the cycle began again. No matter where he went, they had to screw him. It was just their nature.

I know this nature too well, so I can't hide my disdain for it. The difference between my old boss and me is that I don't ever put a smile on it. I dispense with playing nice because that is a lie. I will do good work to the best of my ability. But I'm not going to pretend that other people are good when they are not. I can't give honor to a sniveler or a slacker.

My focus on the job these days is just on the work. I ignore the rest because I can't change it. I have learned from my wife that the best you can do is to be a good example. This means going in and working. Be the change you wish to see in others. By doing so, you give encouragement to the good and chastisement to the wicked. Nothing preaches louder than a silent example.

Random Card Of The Day: Jose Canseco Fleer 1990 Base Card


Upcoming Cardsmith Breaks!!

Cardsmiths Breaks

Here are some upcoming Cardsmith breaks! All of the information in this post is directly from Cardsmith Breaks. If you haven't joined in on one of their breaks yet..you are missing out!

2012-13 Panini Elite Basketball Random Case Break
I posted a full case of 2012-13 Panini Elite basketball as a random team break for Wednesday.  I thought we had some basketball people, let's fill it up!  Slots are $49 each.

Here's panini's QA blog post on it:  
http://paniniamerica.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/the-panini-america-quality-control-gallery-2012-13-elite-basketball-new-images/

Click below for slots:



2012 Topps Supreme Football 16 Box Case Break by Team

On Friday, we will do a full 16-Box Case of 2012 Topps Supreme football.  Teams are starting to go now, click below for slots:



And finally I'm trying to post a baseball mixer for Thursday, but I haven't had the chance. It will be 5 different boxes.  Including 2012 Triple Threads, Bowman Draft Jumbo, Series 1 Jumbo, Bowman Platinum and Elite Extra Edition.  Look for that soon.

University of Virginia School of Law Sports Law Conference

The complete program for the March 8, 2013 sports law conference at the University of Virginia School of Law can be found here.  It is my understanding that CLE credits are pending.  Panels include the following:

- Ethical Issues for Sports Agents

- Legal and Practical Issues for Women in Sports and the Sports Law Industry

- Gambling and Corruption in Sports

- Penalties for Athletes

- Lockouts, Greed, and Collective Bargaining  

Review: Panini Contenders Football 2012-WITH LUCK :)

One of my favorite rookie laden products year in and year out Contenders is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. And Panini did a great job in celebrating it with the product adding a base card flashback mocking the originals design from 98. Now onto the review and my thoughts on the 2012 edition:

First off, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America: official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. If you don't follow them at all..you should! They talk to you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!

Box Break Down:
  • 24 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
  • Five Autographs Per Box!
  • Three Rookie Stallions Per Box!
  • $140 a Box
BASE CARDS: I liked the original design which means I am going to like this one as well. There is just something about the Season Ticket design that is catchy. Is it because its supposed to resemble a NFL ticket? Is it the team color scheme on one side the white on the other? Hard to tell. But this is one of my favorite base card designs.
INSERTS: Die cuts make a great addition to this product which my favorite of the two is by far the Rookie Of The Year Contenders. Really like what Panini did there in terms of turning the die cut into a shape of a trophy. The Playoff Tickets are a parallel to the base cards and are numbered just like the original product. Another insert that is very catchy is the Super Bowl one. The design is spectacular and elegant and improved over years past designs. You get about almost 13 inserts in a box. Or thats what ours had.



And BAM!!! ON CARD ANDREW LUCK!!!!!

AUTOGRAPHS: The product says 5 autos per box but most of the time boxes will hand you 6 which I really like and for the price you pay you somewhat hope to land that many.  This product has always been about its autographs, especially its rookie ones. You get one on card per box, which we LUCKED out with ours. Still shaking from seeing this incredible card. The fun thing about this product is chasing the Sp rookie auto tickets, the variations of them (missing some data on the back check the link below to see how you can tell) and seeing rookie autos and rookie cards of players you don't find in every product. Some of whom turn out to be stars in the future.

A list of those Sp's can be found here which also brings you to the Knights Lance: http://sportcardcollectors.blogspot.com/2013/02/panini-contenders-football-2012-sps.html

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS:N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Once again, if you are a fan of rookie autographs, this is the product for you. This product is not for everyone though. You can have those great boxes with some top rookie autos or you could have those ones that you never heard of with a few sprinkled in names. I have seen both. As was the case in this box. The first 5 autos were mostly nobodies than BAM came the big hit of Andrew Luck. It may not happen every time but there is plenty to find in this product with the rookie autos and all variations. And the occasional Emeril in you with the BAM in a box. With 6 autos and tons to chase, this product is well worth a try.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 5
                Insert Design: 4
                Memorablila/Autographs: 4
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4