Nearly one quarter into the season...

And it’s over...

In spite of all of his past successes...

He is an abject failure...

Don’t know what happened...

He must have lost it in the offseason...

He must have forgotten everything he knew about hitting...

It’s over...

Good-bye...

Good riddance...

You’ve lost it, Bucko...

I don’t care what Mike Scioscia says...

You are done...

You are toast...

100% your fault...

We blame you...

And only you...

You crushed our high hopes for you this year...

You blew it...

Make no excuses...

Take the blame...

Be a man...

Face the music...

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out...

Mister...

Mister...

Mister...

Mister Mickey Hatcher...

Now that you are gone...

Albert is free...

Free from your stinking advice...

Free from the jinx...

He was doing just fine...

Just fine...

Until he met you...

Now that you’re gone...

Albert can return to his superstar status...

No more P.U.jols...

How could you do this to our hero, Mickey???

You and your Mickey Mouse advice...

Albert listened to you...

But he should have done the opposite...

It would have brought much success...

And now that Jerry DiPoto has kicked you to the curb...

Albert is back...

Two home runs in two days...

No thanks to you, Mickey...

Good thing he was able to recover...

Recover from your lousy coaching...

We should be 40-0...

Even though we’ve only played 39 games...

Thanks for leaving, Mickey...

Come again when you can’t stay so long...

Don't let the door hit you on the tushie on the way out...

Onward and forward...

Another World Series title is right around the corner...

Now that YOU are gone...

Ya big ninny...

dvt

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/images/photos/001/696/475/143967107_crop_650x440.jpg?1336740497

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2012-05/69963169.jpg

It’s kinda like watching a tennis match...

Without having to swivel your head...

The NBA Playoffs...

And the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs...

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

Simultaneously...

Love it...

And though they’re here together...

They are very different...

For the most part, that is...

So...

When you’re watching the NBA Playoffs...

Just get out your chalk...

Forget the first forty-some-odd minutes...

Just watch the last few...

Forget the first round or two...

Just wait ‘til it gets real interesting...

Oh yeah... 

NBA has it’s early moments...

Every once in a while...

But in the end...

It usually ends according to Hoyle...

Whoever Hoyle is...

Maybe Hoyle is David Stern...

Which is why they call him Stern...

“Yoo vill vin ziss series...”

“Ooohnt yoo vill like eet.”

Not like that in the NHL...

The players get to decide who gets The Cup...

What a concept...

You see...

If a seven or eight seed wants to run the table...

It’s okay in the NHL...

The Bett Man is down with it...

The Stern Dictator is not...

Now I know some of you don’t like the Bett Man...

But he steps aside when Stanley is around...

And David???

He has a stern hold of The Larry...

I like that...

One is named Stanley...

The other is named Larry...

I would have picked a different name...

Something like The Joe Cup...

The Cup of Joe...

Joe is more authoritative than Stanley or Larry...

Which is why David likes Larry...

Laurence is more sophisticated than David...

So it’s just The Larry...

With the Irish O'Brien surname...

No wonder the Celtics win it a bunch...

They have a distinct advantage...

And no wonder the Jazz haven’t won it...

Jazz ain’t Irish...

Maybe they should be the Utah Cloggers...

But I don’t think David would allow it...

He’s the boss of everything...

Who wins the series...

How many games...

Who gets hurt...

Can’t have too short of a series...

Gotta rake in more money...

It’s a communist plot...

But Gary doesn’t care...

The original six don’t have to be in the finals...

Heck...

Didn’t the Nordiques play the Whalers one year???

Anything can happen with Stanley...

He runs the show...

I think it’s because he’s a lord...

Not THE LORD...

Just A Lord...

He doesn’t care if an eighth seed wins it...

If you have a hot goalie...

You can win The Stanley...

Even if you only qualified with twelve points...

Because...

Everybody and their brothers make the playoffs...

In both leagues mind you...

But both playoffs are completely different...

David and Larry are predictable...

Gary and Stanley are not...

That’s why I prefer the NHL to the NBA...

And one more thing...

They both have overtime...

That’s good...

But Stanley has Sudden Death...

Larry doesn’t...

Stanley’s game may not end until September...

Larry prefers the five minute quickie...

And the best part about Stanley’s game???

You don’t have to watch Lebron blow the title...

Year after year...

dvt

http://www.nhlsnipers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/nba-v-nhl1.jpg

Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared beneath the stars above 

For a moment all the world was right 

How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye 

And now I'm glad I didn't know 

The way it all would end the way it all would go 

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain 

But I'd of had to miss the dance 

Holding you I held everything 

For a moment wasn't I the king 

But if I'd only known how the king would fall 

Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all 

And now I'm glad I didn't know 

The way it all would end the way it all would go 

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain 

But I'd of had to miss the dance 

Yes my life is better left to chance 

I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance.

The Pride of Oceanside High...

Lettered in football, basketball, track and field...

As one of a band of just eighteen...

He led the Pirates to a CIF football title...

San Diego Section Basketball Player of the Year... 

Shot put league champion...

He fought on at USC...

From academically ineligible his freshman year...

To a unanimous first team All-American...

He made his mark...

How ironic...

That he played...

For a team named the Chargers...

Electricity magnified...

Fiery...

Competitive...

Beloved...

And now...

Never forgotten...

But all the fame...

And all the fortune...

Doesn’t satisfy the soul...

It’s obvious...

He played with heart...

But apparently lived...

With a broken heart...

dvt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mifIuSVAy0w

Lyrics from The Dande, written by Tony Arata

http://www.lyrics007.com/Garth%20Brooks%20Lyrics/The%20Dance%20Lyrics.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pISZgvWh4bw

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2012/writers/dennis_dillon/05/03/junior.seau.stan.humphries/junior-seau.jpg

Let me get my stethoscope out here and do a diagnosis...

First of all...

Please be informed that I am a diabetic...

Secondly...

Please note that many diabetics such as myself have neuropathy...

Not familiar with neuropathy???

Let me enlighten you...

* "Diabetic neuropathies are a family of nerve disorders caused by diabetes. People with diabetes can, over time, develop nerve damage throughout the body. Some people with nerve damage have no symptoms. Others may have symptoms such as pain, tingling, or numbness-loss of feeling-in the hands, arms, feet, and legs. Nerve problems can occur in every organ system, including the digestive tract, heart, and sex organs. About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy. People with diabetes can develop nerve problems at any time, but risk rises with age and longer duration of diabetes. The highest rates of neuropathy are among people who have had diabetes for at least 25 years. Diabetic neuropathies also appear to be more common in people who have problems controlling their blood glucose, also called blood sugar, as well as those with high levels of blood fat and blood pressure and those who are overweight."

In essence...

I live with foot numbness every day...

But I still have some “feeling” in my tootsies...

Thirdly...

There are other kinds of neuropathy as well...

Such as ulnar neuropathy...

Not necessarily connected to diabetes...

But possibly connected to erratic behavior...

Let me explain...

** "Ulnar neuropathy is irritation of the ulnar nerve at the elbow. It can cause numbness, tingling, and pain both at the elbow and into the hand. The pinky finger and half of the ring finger may become numb and are the fingers most commonly affected by this condition. We see this for many reasons. With the weather getting nicer, we will see it in bicyclists due to the shocks and bouncing that they experience while holding on to the handlebars. It will also happen to people who lean on the inside of their elbow. In baseball, throwers that have problems with their ulnar collateral ligament will sometimes complain of ulnar neuritis due to the stretching of the nerve caused by throwing with an unstable elbow.”

We also see ulnar neuropathy in other sports...

Such as...

BASKETBALL!!!

NBA Basketball to be exact...

The most recent form of ulnar neuropathy...

Was exhibited this past Sunday...

With an elbow so terribly numb...

The player launching it had no feeling as...

His elbow collided with the noggin of another player...

Thus resulting in a concussion to the cranium...

And causing a large dent in the side of said player’s head...

Obviously...

The player who threw the elbow...

Has a severe case of ulnar neuropathy...

No feeling in his elbow whatsoever...

How do we know this for sure???

We know this for sure...

By the subsequent reaction of the "elbower"...

Who had zero concern for his “elbowee”...

Said player continued to march down the court...

Beating his breasts...

And flexing his muscles...

Like he was in a Tarzan movie...

Once restrained...

Said player was sent to the showers...

And eventually given a seven game suspension...

Friendly advice...

Please have your elbows checked on a regular basis because...

If you play basketball...

You might have ulnar neuropathy...

And there are side effects to ulnar neuropathy...

It affects the mind...

You can’t think straight....

You do something extremely stupid...

And miss work for one week....

Remember this...

Ulnar neuropathy is not your friend...

dvt

http://www.freedomscope.com/History/doctor_with_stethoscope.jpg

*(http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/neuropathies/#what)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf3BNRF9ICc

**http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqvtjwz9KME/S-hqmN7OGiI/AAAAAAAAAB8/KkzymDZYADE/s1600/anatomy-of-the-elbow.gif&imgrefurl=http://yoursportsmd.blogspot.com/2010/05/ulnar-neuropathy.html&usg=__9XbWOzvDg_Kdy02zBUH_njdmhp8=&h=465&w=500&sz=38&hl=en&start=34&zoom=1&tbnid=lEjLAwCo91SptM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=130&ei=0RaaT9TcNIac2AXXkuX8Dg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dneuropathy%2Bof%2Bthe%2Belbow%26start%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1

http://ronehot1079philly.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/metta-world-peace-elbow1.jpg

http://blacksportsonline.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/James-Harden-Face.jpg

No big deal...

It's just Albert...

Or A-Train...

Acting like he's Japanese...

I don't buy it... 

The crowd's not buying it...

It won't last...

Weak...

dvt

http://www.gerweck.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Lord-Tensai.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Gotkz9xtw