Tidbits

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I went out to Blairstown, New Jersey over by the Delaware Water Gap and had a great time concentrating on turkey and football. I've never been much of a hunter, but the people I was celebrating with certainly were: somehow I avoided having to test out one of their new gadgets -- I know I would have hurt myself.

Let me do a quick wrap-up to get your Monday started out right:

*Do you trust the Chicago Tribune as your source for Minnesota sports rumblings? I know I do. If you're of the same opinion, maybe we can take comfort that apparently things are "heating up" on the Joe Mauer contract situation. (Try to make it past the creepy Bud Selig picture at the beginning of the article. They don't talk about Joe until a little further down...)

*There is a Vikings bar in Manhattan, FYI. And even I feel intimidated going there because some of the people there are craaaazzzzyyy. But it's an awesome home away from home during big games. And a whole bar in the middle of the East Village singing Skol Vikings after every touchdown and randomly breaking out into chants of "10-AND-1" is a fun way to spend your Sunday afternoon in New York. Yes, this it, trust me, it's much crazier than this picture appears:

Bar None, New York, NY. (3rd Ave and 12th street.)

*When I was in high school and then when I went to college for film school, I used to see every movie almost as soon as it would hit the theaters. Now that I actually have responsibilities and a life it's somewhat tougher, and I'm trying to do my best to keep on top of things. So, forgive me for just finally getting around to seeing this movie, and if you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and go rent it right away:

Sugar is an amazing movie that will really give you an eye opening look into the Latin American baseball world. It's about a promising prospect from the Dominican Republic and his struggles to make it to the U.S. and adapt to playing minor league ball in a really different environment. You'll also have a whole new appreciation when speaking about minor leaguers after seeing the struggles and pressure they deal with. (Plus, the main character's name is Miguel Santos, which sounds kind of like Miguel Sano...)

*Speaking of Miguel Angel Sano, he is now called Miguel Jean. Just make a note.

*No Josh Johnson trade. Ugh. Thanks for getting my hopes up rumor mill.

That's all for now! Be sure to check back later this week -- I'll have a real article for you all (finally!), I'll be appearing on Jack Steal's podcast this Wednesday (no reception last week in rural NJ), and I'll be profiling Andrew Bryz-Gornia of We Are Off the Mark on Friday!