We need a new stat

Let's call it the Interest Now, Determined After Sustained Sucking (InDAss). I hosted a Cubs fan for dinner last night after not talking to him for a few months and I had to ask if he cared or if he had given up on the season. After admitting there were a few reasons to check the standings on maybe a weekly basis on the off chance there was a miracle brewing in Wrigleyville, he said its Bears season. Mets fans, including some of your faithful OSMers, have long since given up hope. We have a magic number, but maybe it's time for a tragic number.

Here's a suggested formula for the InDAss. It's a work in progress, so please don't submit this to the STATS folks until we agree on all of the variables, thank you very much. This applies to all sports, I believe, except for hockey where no team is eliminated ever. You either get a participation ribbon or the Stanley Cup at the end of the season and only Canadians care which.

Games remaining
- Games back/division (once InDAss turns into a negative number, this becomes games back in the wild card, if the sport has one)
* Wimp index (fan's tolerance for backing a team that's going through a tough swing, along the lines of a batting average)
+ Schedule effect (who do you have on your schedule? Scale of -5 to 5)
+ Precedent factor (Scale of 0 - 10 representing size of most recent turn around)
- Strength of Competition (0 - 10 scale, based on current performance and historical stretch performance of the leader)
- Delusion penalty (Sorry, Rockies fans. That's never happening again. Scale = 0 - 5)
= InDAss

So for starters, the Cubs. The Cubs as of last night's action stood at 6 games back. To the outside observer it doesn't look that bad, especially with some puff balls coming up in the schedule. Let's have a look and see if my buddy should find a paper bag and calm down.

Games remaining - 45
- Games back (6) - 31
* wimp index (Cubs fans endure a ton, but have a time earned sense of futility. -- .230) - 7.13
+ Schedule effect (as they are in danger of being swept by the Padres, who the Cubs should beat is up for debate, but objectively, they have one more vs. SD, 4 in LA vs. the slumping Dodgers, the Mets and Nats at home -- and that's just the rest of the month. September has the Bucs and more Mets to balance out sets vs. potential wild card rivals San Fran and the division leader Cardinals. Let's call it a 3.) - 10.13
+ Precedent factor (remember that great comeback story the Cubs had in the last decade? Me either -- 0) - 10.13
- Strength of Competition (The Cardinals looked like a wild card threat to start the season, but until -- I mean if, if, Cards fans -- Carpenter does back on the DL, that team is capital T tough and looking strong for the balance of the year -- 9) - 1.13
- Delusion penalty (Cubs fans know where they stand -- 0) - 1.13

= The Cubs are in danger of crossing over into Wild Card chasers, but I don't think all hope is lost in the division. A good next 15 games is important, but keep your chins up, Cub fans, at least through the weekend.

Don LaFontaine is dead... or is he????

With all the talk on the famed website originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com of the demise of Don LaFontaine, I was at peace. I had spent my time grieving for "The Voice" and I had made my peace with God. Sunsets, puppies, hot chicks... would never look the same in a world without him. I had finally admitted that trailers would never be the same, no matter how upsetting that prospect may be.

At 1:26 AM on Sunday August 16th my world... was shattered into a million pieces.

While stumbling in a drunken stupor after several hurricanes, several shots, several women sitting on Josh Fenderman's lap and not earning a dime... that's wen I saw him. Standing guard outside a souvenir shop, a rare site in New Orleans and one that "The Voice" obviously felt an obligation to leave the physical world to defend. His sacrifice is unprecedented.

When I looked back, he was gone. But for one brief, magical moment, the color was brought back to rainbows. I was no longer mad at Hootie for the "Amy Winehouse" moment. I was not able to take a picture, but due to some incredible technological advances, I was able to extract this image from my mind and re-create it in the form of a photo. I share that brief moment with you.




How do I move on from here????

I don't want the same thing to happen to originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com that happened to the Kodan Armada. They were convinced that the Last Starfighter was dead. He of course as not and used the Death Blossom to end their chances of conquering Rylos. Lets just hope that this sighting has not hurt the momentum that orgininalsportsmusings.blogspot.com has gained in conquering the online sports/entertainment/politics blogsphere.

This is clearly a sign that we need to work harder than ever to save originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com.

Thanks for your support during this difficult time.

The best 18 days of our lives

It has been 18 glorious days since the evil CLJ sentenced www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com to death. He's been given the ability take over and kill www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com since July 31. Yet, today August 17, in the year of our Lord 2009, we sit hear today - alive, well and enjoyed globally.

Now I know the questions that our millions of followers are wondering:

1) Why would anyone want to kill the potential profit juggernaut that is www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com?

2) Why do you think 18 days of hearing Mike Vick's old cell mates yell "dead man walking" have been glorious?

3) How can CB40 actually like Kelly Clarkson?

Well I can't give good answers to questions one and three. However, I will explain my thinking on question two.

As is our ritual, every day we've been able to wakeup, run to our PCs, Macs, iPhones, BlackBerries, or whatever is your favorite method of following www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com, and we've been able to continue receiving, following and developing our favorite website since Al Gore first created this wonderful Internet.

Over the past 18 days, all of you have been able to enjoy the literary masterpiece that is www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com. Likewise, over the past 18 days, all of us have been able to continue working at the best job we've ever had, even if we are still waiting on that first pay check. However, over the last 18 days, none of this was supposed to happen.

Just like all of you, I went to bed on July 31, 2009, expecting that was going to be the last time I ever saw www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com. Yet, for 18 days, to our surprise and elation, we've awaken to one more beautiful day with our beloved site. That is 18 sunrises with Art V's Mets rantings. It's 18 sunsets with the Hat's Olympian athletes search. And of course 18 moments with the swimsuit models of the day - ok, maybe there were a couple days where there were multiple moments, but none of us have gone blind yet...

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is this is all time that none of thought we had left. I've always been told that when one cheats death, even for a short period of time, that a breeze blows crisper, the sun shines brighter, and a bird sings even more beautifully.

This is what we have all experienced together for the past 18 days. None of us know when CLJ will hit the delete key on this wonderful experiment, but what we do know is that every day we have left is a day we were never meant to have together and that makes each day glorious, in my opinion.