Welcome to the WGOM!

Last 20 Postings at the WGOM

Do You Want Fries With That? by brianS | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Pint-Sized Review: Shiner Bohemian Black Lager by brianS | Categories: Barley Pops and Hop Hits • Featured Articles
Perhaps He Thought It Was Valerie Plame by SBG | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Game 101: Twins at 1927 Yankees by ubelmann | Categories: 2008 Twins Game Logs
The Go! Team - The Power Is On by New Guy | Categories: WGOM Videos
The Bad Old Days by ubelmann | Categories: Featured Articles • MLB
Game 100: Minnesota vs. Bronx Bombers by ubelmann | Categories: 2008 Twins Game Logs
Not Quite Dead by SBG | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Jesus, Whatever Happened to the Problem of Clogging the Bases? by SBG | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Ford downsizes by brianS | Categories: WGOM Headlines
I’m Batman by brianS | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Ex-Allina doc has sex with patients, loses license by SBG | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Bassy! by GreekHouse | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Back to Beloit by Big Mak | Categories: Featured Articles • On the Farm
Tapes ‘n Tapes - Insistor by New Guy | Categories: WGOM Videos
Leadoff Hitters/Displaced Center Fielders by ubelmann | Categories: Featured Articles • MLB • Minnesota Twins
Game 99: Twins at New York Yankees by ubelmann | Categories: 2008 Twins Game Logs
There’s a lot of hot air in Texas by brianS | Categories: WGOM Headlines
Is Mike Lamb Burned Out? by twayn | Categories: WGOM Headlines
More Boobs on BoobTube? by SBG | Categories: WGOM Headlines

About Us

There are a number of people who write at this site. Here's a little about them.

SBG

This website is run primarily by me, "Stick and Ball Guy," or SBG, as I actually prefer. I really like the name Stick and Ball Guy and I can say that without sounding boastful because I didn't think of it. I first saw the name in a Patrick Reusse column. Apparently, the term stick and ball guy is a phrase used by Southerners to refer to guys that don't get into racing. I don't know if it is a derogatory term or if it's just a standard colloquialism, but I think it's a cool name and I have co-opted it.

I am an attorney by trade and prior to that I worked as an engineer, designing Bobcat(R) compact construction equipment. (I'm sure that my former employer appreciates that I treat their trademark with respect, at least right here.) While I worked as an engineer, I lived in SBGville, a small town in Southeastern North Dakota. I quit my job, moved to the Twin Cities and went to law school when I was 36 years old. While I am a lawyer and from time to time I might talk about legal issues and politics, this page is intended to be fun and focused on sports and the trivial aspects of everyday life. As such, I offer the following disclaimer.

Information contained on this site is for informational or amusement purposes only. Nothing written is intended to be legal advice or legal counsel. You are not a client of SBG unless you have an express relationship with his law firm. Because I do not reveal for which firm I work and do not use the name SBG professionally, I can safely say that "you" are not a client of "SBG."

Okay, I'm glad to be done with that. I am married and 43 years old. My wife's name is "Lucy" (or, at least, that's how I refer to her around here) and she cannot stand sports, especially baseball. You may be thinking, what were you doing, SBG, marrying this woman who hates what you love? Well, Lucy is a wonderful, passionate, funny woman. We have a daughter, BabySBG. You might have seen a dozen or so pictures of her here.

AMR

AMR is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He is the son of former major league All-Star, the godson of a Hall of Famer, the nephew of a 1964 Olympian, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. He debuted in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993, where he stayed through 2007. AMR filed for free agency following the 2007 World Series.

AMR's accomplishments place him among the greatest baseball players of all-time. He has a record-setting seven Most Valuable Player awards, including a record-setting three consecutive MVPs. He is a fourteen time All-star, eight time gold glove-winner and he holds numerous Major League Baseball records. He currently holds the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762, and is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688). He holds numerous other records, including the single-season Major League record for home runs (73), set in 2001.

Since 2003, AMR has been a key figure in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) scandal. He was under investigation by a federal grand jury regarding his testimony in the BALCO case, and was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges on November 15, 2007. The indictment alleges that AMR lied while under oath about his alleged use of steroids.

(Yep. AMR has not sent in his biography yet.)

Andrew

I don't know how to properly or adequately describe who I am with regards to the WGOM, but I'll give it a shot. I am originally from Indiana, where I lived until just after my 12th birhday. We moved to Algona, in Northern Iowa. Until that point in my life, I was an Indianapolis Indians fan, and to a lesser extent a Cincinatti Reds fan. After the move, I began watching some abyssmal Twins teams on TV, but for some reason I liked them. Soon, the team started improving and winning division titles. Baseball has always been my first love when it comes to sports, both participating and spectating.

Around the WGOM, I do quite a few different things. Although I would not consider myself a soccer expert by any stretch, I did cover the 2006 World Cup and comment quite a bit on soccer. I was the interviewer of the series "Better Know A Citizen" which profiled members of the WGOM Nation. Currently, you can see me working on the SBG HOF and commenting on my Drake Bulldogs.

I currently live in Des Moines where I sell electrical equipment. I graduated from Drake with a BA in History as a part of the Class of 2007. I've been accepted at Trinity College Dublin for the 2008-2009 school year where I'll be studying for my Masters in Modern Irish History.

Banjo

Banjo is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years, from 1999 to 2005. He is the only individual to win seven times, having broken the previous record of five wins. Prior to this, he also survived testicular cancer, a germ cell tumor that metastasized to his brain and lungs, in 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was not originally considered to be great.

In 1999, he was named the American Broadcasting Company's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Banjo retired from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France.

(Yep. Banjo has not sent in his biography yet.)

Big Mak

Big Mak is an American songwriter, singer and guitarist. He is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered around his native New Jersey. His eloquence in expressing ordinary, everyday problems has earned him numerous awards, including eighteen Grammy Awards and an Academy Award, along with a notoriously dedicated and devoted global fan base. His most famous albums epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life. He has sold over 65 million albums in the U.S.

Big Mak's lyrics often concern men and women struggling to make ends meet. He has gradually become identified with progressive politics. Big Mak is also noted for his support of various relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere, and for his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Big Mak's recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. Much of his iconic status stems from the concerts and marathon shows in which he and his band present intense ballads, rousing anthems, and party rock and roll songs, amongst which Big Mak intersperses long, whimsical or deeply emotional stories.

(Yep. Big Mak has not sent in his biography yet.)

brianS

I think I wandered over to the WGOM from Gleeman, but I don't really remember anymore. My initial role here was in needling the Boss about his relationship with the doyenne of Twins bloggers and trying feebly to critique ubelmann's work. I began carrying far more than my weight in game logs, which shot me up the comment rankings. Somehow, that growing mass of commentary compost, plus my constant pestering SBG about musical requests led him to offer me the authority to post and the invitation to help out with the VJing. The rest, as they say, is history.

I contribute regularly to the musical selections and irregularly to the main content, through barley pop-oriented offerings and occasional baseball-related bits. But mostly I'm known for offering comments on damned near anything and everything.

I grew up in Spamtown USA and am a proud graduate of Carleton College (alma mater of Twins Geek!). I hold a Ph.D. in political science and spent the past 15 years as an academic, but have since moved to applied public policy work for the Golden State. I live in the Sacramento area, which makes me the go-to-guy for NorCal scouting (A's prospects in particular). My non-Twins' passions, beside Mrs S, the Boy and the Girl, are beer, cooking and science fiction/fantasy. But my doctorate authorizes me to comment on (almost) every subject. After all, I have a Ph.D. in science, so I know more than you do.

E-6

DJ and citizen. I'm probably best known as the pretentious "artsy" guy with far too many opinions about pop culture and an a borderline obsession with linking. I love baseball. I used to love basketball. I'm an amateur foodie who enjoys an adult beverage from time to time. I'm a big fan of books. Math makes me sleepy. As my colleague brianS might say, I provide "post-modern angst" to the site (stupid burrow-crat...)

I got the DJ gig by wearing down bS and frightwig with requests and comments. I think they came to the conclusion that it would be easier to let me join in than to have me killed. If it's not obvious, I love music. All kinds of music. I get a huge kick turning someone on to new (or old) music. I couldn't be happier that SBG lets me do what I do here. Whatever that is.

For the past 20 years I've operated a fine art painting studio in Minneapolis.

frightwig

frightwig is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in, 220 lb power forward is regarded as one of the best all-around players in the NBA. His accomplishments include being voted Most Valuable Player of the 2003-04 season, NBA Defensive Player of the Year of the 2007-08 season, being named to eleven All-Star teams and being named to eight All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams. He is also the all-time leader in NBA seasons played with averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

After graduating from Farragut Career Academy, he was the fifth player drafted in 1995. He became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years. His nicknames include "The Big Ticket", "fw", "Go-Go Gadget Arms", "The Kid", and formerly "The Franchise" (after being known as the Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise player).

(Yep. frightwig has not sent in his biography yet.)

GreekHouse

I am the resident Twolves "expert" here at WGOM and I collaborate with SBG on the Wolves game logs. Back in 2004, I was searching the web for a good Twolves blog but couldn't find one. I realized that one needed to exist, so I started one. Unfortunately, my timing was bad as this was the beginning of the end of the KG era in Minnesota. Eventually, I realized that I enjoyed playing poker more than writing about a bad basketball team. Plus, I could make more money doing that, so I gave up the blogging business for a while.

Eventually, I found my way over here. I am really a terrible sports writer, so for a site that advertises its half-baked crap, I feel right at home. I'm lazy and don't like to do a lot of research, so as a result most of my best writing tends to be more theoretical in nature.

In real life, I am a math grad student. As an undergrad, I double majored in math and computer science. After working for a year, I went to the University of Minnesota in the computer science PhD program. During my second year there, I took a math logic course as part of my CS curriculum and realized I wanted to get back to my roots. I finished up there with a Masters and am now at Iowa State.

After I dropped out of PhD program at Minnesota and switched to the Master's program, I lost my funding from the school. I had a job doing web programming for my alma mater, but they ran out of money to pay me after about 3 months. I didn't really find another job and sort of became an online poker pro by default. I had been playing online since I had started grad school and had been using it to supplement my meager grad student income, so I knew it wasn't a huge risk for me. A lot of people think that being a poker pro would be a really great job, but it was really pretty awful. It got pretty tedious having to play so much and downswings are really hard to deal with when you need the money to pay your bills. After I got back to school, I quit playing for over a year and only recently started up again.

Despite my bad experience, poker has really influenced my world view and my view of sports. I will occasionally talk about poker or use analogies to gambling when talking about sports.

New Guy

New Guy is a professional baseball player who plays in the outfield for the Minnesota Twins. He bats left and throws right. His ability to hit for average while maintaining plate discipline could make him a middle of the order type of hitter. He is also well known for his strong arm, typically from right field. Although he did well in a September call-up in 2004, he suffered a serious knee injury in the Arizona Fall League in 2004, which caused him to miss the entire 2005 season. New Guy returned to action in spring training 2006, made the Twins opening day roster, and started in right field on opening day. However, he got off to a slow start at the plate and was optioned to AAA Rochester on April 16, 2006. New Guy returned to the Twins lineup on May 23, 2006 as a replacement for the injured Shannon Stewart. He hit well in his return, including a game-winning, walk-off grand slam in the 12th inning against the Boston Red Sox on June 13, 2006. Since then continued soreness in his knees limited his playing time and success for the rest of the 2006 season. His 2007 statistics showed improvements, playing 128 games with 418 at-bats. On July 6, 2007, New Guy drove in a career high seven runs in a 20-14 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

During the 2008 season, New Guy has primarily played in the designated hitter slot due to the acquisition of left fielder Delmon Young from the Tampa Bay Rays.

New Guy played at Highland High School in Palmdale, California.

(Yep. New Guy has not sent in his biography yet.)

Rhubarb_Runner

Rhubarb_Runner is a Golden Globe-winning and two-time Grammy-winning English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman.

Rhubarb_Runner was born into a middle-class family at Dartford, Kent, England. His father and his paternal grandfather were both teachers; his mother, an Australian immigrant to England, was an active member of the Conservative Party. Rhubarb_Runner was the elder of two sons and was raised to follow in his father's career path. According to Rhubarb_Runner, "I was always a singer. I always sang as a child. I was one of those kids who just liked to sing. Some kids sing in choirs; others like to show off in front of the mirror. I was in the church choir and I also loved listening to singers on the radio or watching them on TV and in the movies." Academically successful, he attended Dartford Grammar School where he passed 3 A-levels, before entering the London School of Economics on a scholarship. He studied for a degree in accounting and finance, with a minor in physical education, but attended for less than a year and did not graduate, leaving to pursue a musical career.

(Yep. Rhubarb_Runner has not sent in his biography yet.)

twayn

twayn is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer and conductor, best known for such recordings as I Write the Songs, Mandy, Weekend in New England and Copacabana.

twayn's career achievements include sales of more than 76 million records worldwide. In 1978, five of his albums were on the best-selling charts simultaneously; a feat equalled only by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis. He has recorded a string of Billboard hit singles and multi-platinum albums that have resulted in his being named Radio & Records number one Adult Contemporary artist and winning the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist for three consecutive years. Several well-known entertainers have given twayn their "stamp of approval," including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s regarding twayn, "He's next." In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped twayn at a party, hugged him and said, "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you." Arsenio Hall cited twayn as a favorite guest on The Arsenio Hall Show and admonished his audience to respect him for his work.

As well as producing and arranging albums for other artists, such as Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick and Rosemary Clooney, twayn has written songs for musicals, films, and commercials.

(Yep. twayn has not sent in his biography yet.)

ubelmann

ubelmann is an American film actor and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He has been cited as one of the world's most beautiful men and his off-screen life is widely reported. He has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

Though he made his screen debut as a child alongside his father in the 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, ubelmann's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). His first leading role in a major film was in Hackers (1995). He starred in the critically acclaimed biographical films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the drama Boy, Interrupted (1999). ubelmann achieved international fame as a result of his portrayal of videogame hero Larry Croft in Larry Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established himself as one of the best-known and highest-paid actors in Hollywood. He had his biggest commercial success with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).

(Yep. ubelmann has not sent in his biography yet.)

zooomx

zooomx is an American business magnate, philanthropist, the world's third richest person (as of 2008), and chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, zooomx held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 9 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.

zooomx is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Although he is admired by many, a large number of industry insiders criticize his business tactics, which they consider anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, zooomx has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the zooomx and mrs. zooomx Foundation, established in 2000.

zooomx stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January, 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. He announced in June, 2006 his intention to retire from Microsoft to work for the zooomx and mrs. zooomx Foundation full time. zooomx's last day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains as non-executive chairman of Microsoft.

(Yep. zooomx has not sent in his biography yet.)

WGOM Headlines

Do You Want Fries With That? by brianS Respond: Be First

The Governator issued a draft executive order today that would "reduce pay for more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash in the midst of a month-long budget standoff."

That might get the attention of a few state workers. And probably please the Orange Curtain Republicans to no end

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Perhaps He Thought It Was Valerie Plame by SBG Respond: 6 LTEs

Bob Novak cited after hitting pedestrian.

As he traveled east on K. Street, crossing 18th, [Witness David] Bono said a "black Corvette convertible with top closed plowed into the guy. The guy is sort of splayed onto the windshield.”

Bono said the pedestrian, who was crossing the street on a "Walk" signal and was in the crosswalk, rolled off the windshield and then Novak made a right into the service lane of K Street. “The car is speeding away. What’s going through my mind is, you just can’t hit a pedestrian and drive away,” Bono said.

He chased Novak half a block [on his bicycle] down K St., finally caught up with him and then put his bike in front of the car to block him and called 911. Traffic immediately backed up, horns blared, and commuters finally went into reverse to allow Novak to pull over.

Bono said that throughout, Novak "keeps trying to get away. He keeps trying to go.” He said he vaguely recognized the longtime political reporter and columnist as a Washington celebrity but could not precisely place him.

Finally, Novak put his head out the window of his car and motioned him over. Bono said he told him that you can't hit a pedestrian and just drive away. He said Novak responded: “I didn’t see him there.”

He didn't see him. Splayed on his windshield. Right.

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Not Quite Dead by SBG Respond: 3 LTEs

RI cops arrest man with .491 blood alcohol level.

A blood alcohol of .3 is classified as "stupor," .4 is "comatose" and .5 is considered fatal, according to the health department.

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Jesus, Whatever Happened to the Problem of Clogging the Bases? by SBG Respond: Be First

FJM reports that Dusty Baker looks at OBP when he fills out his lineup card. Or at least, he uses OBP to justify his decisions.

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Ford downsizes by brianS Respond: 1 LTE

Nice to see Ford ahead of the market curve on this one. Or not.

The Ford Motor Company, which devoted itself for nearly 20 years to putting millions of Americans into big pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, is about to drastically alter its focus to building more small cars.
...
Ford is expected to convert three of its big assembly plants from truck-based products to cars, including its so-called Michigan Truck plant in Wayne, Mich., that builds Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator S.U.V.’s.

The company plans to use the plant to increase its output of the Ford Focus, a compact car that has become one of its best sellers this year. Ford also plans to retool two of its V-8 engine plants to add production of more fuel-efficient 4-cylinder and V-6 engines.

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I’m Batman by brianS Respond: 5 LTEs

The Dark Knight mebbe needs a little therapy. (Is it just me, or does that look like Brad Miller in the picture?)

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Ex-Allina doc has sex with patients, loses license by SBG Respond: 17 LTEs

Just down the road from our house in Eagan. Doc gave one of his clients an STD and then treated her for it. He carried on with one patient for 20 years and gave her narcotics for no apparent reason (and kept that off of her medical records). How nice. And of course, the Strib commenters chime in. Here's a sample:

Obviously these women enjoyed it, or at least didn't mind. If they had a problem with it, all they had to do was switch clinics! I understand why he is in trouble, but really...why?!? If they were 2 consenting parties, what is the big deal?? Why are American's so afraid of sex!?

Hell yeah, what's the big deal?

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Bassy! by GreekHouse Respond: 5 LTEs

The Wolves have resigned Telfair. No word on the details yet.

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There’s a lot of hot air in Texas by brianS Respond: 2 LTEs

Big-money energy transmission project is like a breath of fresh air in the Lone Star State.

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Is Mike Lamb Burned Out? by twayn Respond: 6 LTEs

Jeff Pearlman catches up with Mike Lamb eight years after predicting a bright MLB future for him. Lamb sounds as though he's lacking a bit of urgency these days.

"I get paid a lot of money to play baseball, and it's a wonderful living. But I didn't hear [daughter] Kayla's first words. That kills me... and every day I question whether this lifestyle is best for my kids. You have to be a little selfish to do this line of work. That's how I feel, at least."

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Notes from the Ditch

Site Changes 7/19/08 by SBG Respond: Be First

Well, it's Saturday morning, so that means it's time to work on the site. I went to the drive last night and didn't get home until 12:30 or so, so I didn't get up too early. But, here's what I did get done.

Quicktag Bar on LTEs -- One that's always bugged me is that I didn't know how to add buttons to what is known as the "Quicktag Bar" on the LTE form. If you don't know what that is, it is the little bar with buttons like "b" "i" "link", which allow you to format your LTEs. I used to have an "img" button, but for some reason, that floated into the ether. Well, I figured out how to add buttons (thanks, The Google^TM). So, I added the "img" button back. Plus, I added the "<" and ">" buttons and the "sup" button. The first two add greater than and less than signs for showing people how to write HTML code. If you don't know what that means, that's okay, but for those of you that do, you won't be typing the "&" much any more. The "sup" allows you to add superscript, like the TM symbol above.

Blog Page -- You know, the new look is fun for me and I like it, but maybe it's not your cup of tea. If not, try this on for size, the "Blog Page". You'll note that the toolbar across the top of the page says "Home" and then "Blog". If you click on that page, you will get none of the frilly new stuff -- just the entries on this site in a blog form. You can bookmark that page and enter the WGOM there, if you like. You can always just go there from the home page. However you prefer. The URL is http://www.stickandballguy.com/blog/blog. Bloggy goodness!

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Upgrade to 2.6 by SBG Respond: 9 LTEs

If you don't write for this site, this post is of little interest to you. I have updated the Wordpress engine on the WGOM to version 2.6. There are a few minor changes to the system, the most notable (and this is relevant to those of you who post headlines or are working on videos), the "Press This". You will see this just to the right of the main editing window. Drag and drop that to your bookmarks bar on your browser and when you want to add a WGOM Headline, click on it when you are on that page. You will be able to do all kinds of things and post your article with ease. NOTE that this is REALLY cool if you are posting videos (VJs). Try it out.

Note to VJs: unfortunately, the popup window associated with this "Press It" feature doesn't have a schedule feature, so just SAVE the videos, don't publish. You can go through YouTube, save videos to your heart's content and then edit them later (note that they are now drafts).

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On the New Look by SBG Respond: 34 LTEs

Good taste is the first refuge of the non-creative. It is the last ditch stand of the artist. -- Marshall McLuhan

I'm pretty excited about the new template and look here for the WGOM. I've tinkered many times with this thing, but now I have what I really want -- tons of information available without refreshing the page AND a nice clean look. Wow.

There are a couple of huge changes. The first, of course, is the huge tab window that is located just below the header. I've set up a number of tabs, including the main tab, which right now has a little information on it with links to a number of recent articles. I've also added a "Featured Articles" tab, which has the last ten featured articles shown in their entirety. It kind of looks like a blog page. What are "Featured Articles"? Well, they are articles other than WGOM Headlines, Cup of Coffee, Notes from the Ditch, Game Logs, and WGOM Videos. Most of what's been written there lately has been ubelmann's writings, but things like "On the Grill", "Barley Pops and Hop Hits" and "Better Know a Citizen" will show up in the "Featured Articles" list.

The WGOM Headlines are located under a tab. Yep, they aren't readily viewable without a click, but they also are in a lot better format. Note to those who submit WGOM Headlines -- you can write more than a sentence now, because you aren't constrained by a 150 px column. So, if you want to make your post a little meatier, go ahead. Also, add tags if you would like that are directed to the content of the posts. I've got a related articles function running, which will make the content richer, if posts can be accessed in the future.

I'm hoping to write more on my "Notes from the Ditch" column. This column is really not about anything related to the main topics of the site -- baseball, basketball, music, movies, wine, food, etc. These are my personal ramblings. I intend to do more with that. The stuff is sitting on a tab, so those who don't want to read my off topic palaver can vote by not reading. It's going to be out there.

One thing to note about the tab window. You can switch from tab to tab without refreshing the page, which is nice, but in order to get new information, you will have to refresh the page. In other words, if you load the page at 1:00PM, don't expect the game log for a 7:00PM page to magically appear. The tab window is nice, but it's not that nice. Maybe someday, I'll have auto refresh on the tabs, but until then, refresh the page for new content.

Another cool thing is the addition of polls. I've been wanting to do this forever, but the poll engine that I have would not work in the old template. It works here, though, and I'm very happy about that. I intend to have polls fairly often. The first one will run for a couple of days, but then I'll start making new polls with regularity.

I hope you like the new look and expanded functionality. If you have any feedback, let me know at sbg at stickandballguy dot com. Thanks.

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Last Chance Convention! by SBG Respond: 9 LTEs

Today is your last chance to sign up for the Convention, at least if you want to sit with us at the game. It promises to be a great time. Banjo and I'll be there. Andrew, Will, Aaron Gleeman, Seth, ubelmann, Nick N., and others. It promises to be a lot of fun. The picnic should be a good time to visit. BabySBG'll tell you what a fish says. How can you turn that down?

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Convention Update by SBG Respond: 13 LTEs

I'm tentatively planning on the bar-b-que being at Minnehaha Falls Park. Apparently, they have a bar-b-que area large enough to accommodate our crew that is first come, first served. So, I'm planning on getting there when the park opens to claim it. Yep, that's a scant eight hours before the picnic starts. Sigh. I should have tried to get a reserved spot before then. (Note to self: do that a couple of months early next year.) I'm thinking that I'll have a little breakfast there and do some food preparation as well. You are invited to show up early! If you are a Iowan running in a 5K that day, just hop on the Light Rail after the race and get off at 50th Street. Then, mosey on over and I'll cook you breakfast. Plus, if there's anyone else around to save the place, I can take to my chateau so that you can get cleaned up.

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Links

Here are a number of links that I have collected for your use. If you have any that you'd like to see added, please contact me at sbg at stickandballguy dot com.

Better Know a Citizen | Mugshot Purgatory | Series Preview in Blog | On The Grill | Barley Pops and Hop Hits | SBG Library | Cup of Coffee Archive | 2007 Game Logs | Music | ubelmann!

Twins Bloggers	Favorite Out of Towners	Political Sites of Interest	Friends of SBG Nation
AaronGleeman.com	Joe Posnanski	Daily Kos	Greet Machine
SethSpeaks	AaronGleeman.com	Atrios
Nick's Twins Blog	AaronGleeman.com	Talking Points Memo
Twins Geek	AaronGleeman.com	Hullabaloo
Coffeyville Whirlwind	AaronGleeman.com	Five Thirty Eight

Frequently Asked Questions

So, what's with the name WGOM? WGOM stands for "World's Greatest Online Magazine". Got a problem with that? Take it up with the editor.

What is this Cup of Coffee? The Cup of Coffee is a place for the Citizens of SBG Nation to talk about whatever they want. SBG grew up in a small town in North Dakota and the locals gathered in the morning at the cafe, grabbed a cup of coffee and visited. That's what this place is intended to be: a virtual coffeeshop. The forum is open, the coffee's brewin' and you have the floor. Got a personal story to share or an article you want to link to? Add it here.
Of course, there's another aspect to the name Cup of Coffee. In baseball terms, a Cup of Coffee is a euphemism used to describe a short stint in the major leagues. I've seen it more recently seen it used to describe players whose playing careers have been just one game. The great Baseball Reference web page has a feature called Cup of Coffee that lists every player with a one game career. (Yep, Moonlight Graham is listed.)
So talk baseball, life, music, food, beer, wine... whatever comes to mind. You are among friends.

What are Notes from the Ditch? Notes from the Ditch are posts written by SBG. This has evolved from a page written by a single person to a group magazine and a lot of different people have authoring rights. This little section, though, is for SBG to say what he wants about anything. Only SBG can post in Notes from the Ditch. And the name? It's a reference to an article written by Patrick Reusse complaining about the number of bloggers out there, including those writing at the Star Tribune website. In the article, Reusse meets one of these bloggers, who lives in a ditch (actually at the site of the new Twins ballpark, which Reusse calls a ditch). Thus, SBG's little musings are "Notes from the Ditch". Any resemblence to Fyodor Dostoevsky's writings is, believe you me, purely coincidental.

Hey, that's a pretty cool picture in your header. Where did that come from? That is a photograph of an original painting by E-6, a valued contributor to this site. E-6 is a fine artist who does a lot of urban landscapes. He did that particular work for me and took a picture of it for the site. He also gave me the original, which I have in my office at home.

Why do I have to register with the site to write letters to the editor? When this site moved from Blogger to Wordpress, it didn't take long for spammers to overrun it. It was not uncommon to have 200 or more spam comments a day show up here. So, the decision was made to combat that by requiring people to register before commenting. The results have been pretty amazing. Sure, the spam is gone, but also a pretty fun community has sprung up. We encourage you to join in and have fun.

Do you have a policy regarding letters to the editor? Yes. All LTEs will be deleted unless they are brilliant, earth changing insights. Actually, there's no real policy at all, except for this: All contributions to the site are the property of SBG Nation and The WGOM, so the implications of that are what you might expect. Just enjoy the site and visit with the other Citizens.