Rex Hudler

I have 3 1/2 experience that may qualify here... 1. Said hello to Adam (I think that is his name) the lead singer of the Counting Crows backstage a couple of years ago. 2. Met Chaley Pride before he sang the National Anthem before the Rickwood Classic a few years ago. The Classic was honoring former Birmingham Black Barons and Negro League players. Charley actually played for the Black Barons before his music career took off. 3. I'm in The Viper Room in LA several years ago. Standing in the crowd listening to some rap group and a short guy bumped into my shoulder. I looked left and it was Ice-T. He looked at me and said "What's up?" and I replied "How are you doin?". He nodded and kept walking. 3 1/2. A girl that works for me is drinking with Rob Thomas right now. He was playing in town tonight and she knows him.

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Jun 20, 2006 -> 10:30 PM) JimH: The Man with a Mission! JimH: A man with WAY too much time on his hands. But funny nonetheless lol Then again, I guess it takes a guy with lots of time to fight a guy with no life, right?

Wood beat me to Schaefer's. But let's not forget a few old favs.... Falstaff, Pfieffer, Carling's Black Label, Falls City, Sterling, Little Kings, Old Milwaukee, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Busch, Hudepohl, Iron City... Oh, I am sure there are many others.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 06:46 AM) I enjoyed your story, Rex. Damn, I love this game. I hope the owners and roiders don't ruin it. Thanks Yas, I'm full of em. Note, I didn't type full of "it" on purpose.

This is a little dated since it happened a month ago, but I just found out this week. Skip Bundy was "good people". He was often scouting games at the Hoover Met and was a pleasure to be around. He scouted minor league players every year after the June amateur draft. I sat with him many times discussing different players, the game and life in general. He was always smiling and accomodating to anyone that wanted to discuss baseball. He was also a long-time customer of my company. I was very disappointed to hear the news.

Gage has got to be going nuts right now. Fullerton has a runner picked off at 3B (yes 3B) with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning. UNC gets the next hitter to strike out, but the catcher can't handle the pitch and allows the runner to reach 1B, extending the inning. UNC gets out of the inning with the bases loaded on a nearly missed fly ball to RF. On to the 12th inning, tied 5-5.

QUOTE(Hangar18 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 11:50 AM) The "league", or as I refer to them as The League of Extraordinarily Dumb Gentleman, does this in a foolish attempt to punish the team that RETALIATES, but doesnt acknowledge the team that INSTIGATES. Its a BS rule that the league has yet to acknowledge is archaic. What the MLB seems to be saying is, ITS OK TO HIT A PLAYER, But not Ok to Defend your player. Selig = Idiot WOW You're missing the point. It has nothing to do with punishing the team that retaliates. It has EVERYTHING to do with preventing bench-clearing brawls. Too many of today's athlete's are freakin idiots that don't understand how the game can police itself. Today's egos and individualism won't allow it. In the past, a guy knew he was going to get plunked and when he did, he took it and headed to 1B. Hitters didn't dig in due to the fear of being knocked off the plate or plunked if they took too big of a swing. Now, guys want to charge the mound if they get hit by a freaking hanging curveball. MLB has to keep the game from becoming brawl ball and today's players don't get how to handle things without it getting to that point. Everytime I see a guy start mouthing off to the pitcher after nearly getting hit by a breaking ball, I want to puke! That is the reason for the rules. I hate them, but I understand them. Baseball is not hockey. Baseball is not a better game when there is a fight. That's not what the game is about and it is not needed to provide excitement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is an example of how the game can police itself. About 10 yrs ago I was umpiring a junior college game in southern Illinois. I was umpiring the bases and there was a runner on 2B. He was blatantly letting the hitter know what pitch was coming. At first he was actually yelling it out, then making hand motions. After a few times, the pitcher walked off the mound into the grass between the mound and 2B. He looked at the runner and said "You better f***in quit it". The runner laughed. He did it again the next pitch. The pitcher promptly turned around and said "you just got your guy hit". I was standing between the two and heard all of this. The next pitch he drilled the hitter in the middle of the back. The baserunner looked at me and "hey ump, he can't do that!". I looked at him and told him it was his damned fault. I said "he told you he was going to do it". I shook my head and said "you've got a lot to learn". There was no crowd so basically everyone was hearing all of this. Finally, the guy that just got hit, standing on 1B told his teammate to shut the hell up. The pitcher turned around and said "are we done or do we have to do this again?". Needless to say, the kid kept his mouth shut and his hands at his side the rest of the game. I saw his coach talking to him after the inning and his teammates laughing. The who thing ended right there. No retaliation. No more mouthing. Just baseball. I smiled and knew all was good with the game.

I have many favorites. Two that come to mind immediately are Carlin and Steven Wright. Many others have been mentioned. One comedian this thread reminded me of is a guy I saw maybe 15 years ago. His name is Chris Bliss. I remember two things about him.... His act involved the crowd a lot, talking to people, asking them personal questions and making jokes off of that info. About 30 minutes into his show, a girl walked in late to join her friends, who were seated right up front. He stopped the show, made fun of her for just getting there and then decided to help her out. He said he would recap the show so far. He then proceeded to rattle everything he had discussed in a matter of a minute or two. He mentioned everyone in the audience he had interacted with and told her what they said and called them by name. All in the exact order it happened. This was not a canned act so this recap was unbelievable. The second and most impressive thing about him is he ends his act juggling like you have never seen before. Click on the link below to see his performance. Trust me it is worth the look. Chris Bliss Juggling - Take the Time to Watch!

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 11, 2006 -> 10:44 PM) Hahaha, I read about that. But I guess it's not used in-game, then, but afterward to punish umpires? Yes, it is a tool for grading umpires. The argument is that umpires have tightened their strike zones in and out because of repercussions of the grading system used with Qeustech.

The strange thing is, I was watching the game fairly casually, so I didn't realize at the time that it was Flack who hit both HR's.

I played from when I was 8 through my sophomore year of college. I played a little bit of everywhere - SS, 3B, C, RF, P - until HS. I pitched and played 3B until my junior year of HS. At that point I pretty much became a pitcher only. I was blessed with being able to make the ball do whatever I wanted to. I threw mostly a two-seam fastball but I could run it in on righties or cut it in on a lefty. The ball moved well and had some sink to it. Rarely did I throw a four seamer as I preferred to go up and in with the two-seamer and let it run into a RH. My breaking balls were easily my forte. I dabbled with all of them. The 12-6 curve was my bread and butter and broke from shoulders to knees sharply. I was able to buckle LH hitters knees on occasion when set up properly. I threw a slider, dabbled with a knuckle curve and even mixed in a few knuckleballs in my teen years. I learned a circle change as a freshman in college that turned out to be a very good pitch with a lot of sink to it. I always had problems keeping my changeup down until I got the 2nd best advice I ever received from a coach. Try to bounce the ball on the plate. I would throw the circle change right at the freaking plate and it would cross at the knees or just below every time. After that, I never had problems "hanging" a change. A Twins scout told me after my sophomore year in college that I had an above average Major League curve ball, a nice changeup and a fastball that would never get me out of Class A. Unfortunately, I threw only 82-83 consistently, hitting a high of 86 on a high mound with the wind at my back. If I were a left-hander they would have called me crafty. Instead, I realized there was no future for a 5'9 righty that didn't even throw mid-80's. I was a borderline Division I pitcher. I had an opportunity to transfer to a D-II school and move right into their rotation, but I chose to further my academics after my sophomore year. I just didn't want to transfer schools. Not pitching much frustrated the hell out of me. I wish I would have stuck with it, even if I never would have been a key pitcher in D-I. Oh well, my sophomore year was fun. We won 44 games and beat #1 Arizona State in Tempe in the first game of the NCAA Regional. Our pitching staff threw 16 complete games that year, which made it even more difficult to get to the mound. As I said, I wish I had stuck with it, but I had some great experiences to look back on. For anyone interested the absolute best advice I ever got from a coach about pitching went something like this (not for the squeamish): From that moment, I threw the ball, followed through and started back-pedaling to the top of the mound to receive the ball back from the catcher. By the time I got it, I was a half step from the rubber, got back on it and waited for the sign. You'd be amazed at how much better I was when I pitched quickly. The defense behind me was better and I got into a much better rhythm.

WOW! UNC wins 8-7 on a two out HR immediately after Alabama's close struck out Horton, the Tar Heels SS who was hitting over .400 for the season. Ole Miss rallies to beat Miami 11-9 after trailing 9-3 early in the game. Rice beats Oklahoma 10-4, no surprise there.

Helluva game on ESPN2 right now in Alabama and UNC. Bama has led the whole game until UNC scores 4 times in the bottom of the 8th inning to take a 6-4 lead. The Tide promptly gets two runners on against the Tar Heels closer and hits a 3-run jack to put them up 7-6. On to the bottom of the 9th right now......

You mean they didn't draft Ron Schueler's daughter this year???

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 12:25 PM) It's weird seeing these guys younger than me. You think that's weird? Try these on for size! Kipp Schutz and Adam Rogers played in the Little League I used to coach in. Preston Mattingly played in a crosstown league and I saw him in all-stars often. Nathan Arnold who did not get drafted, but will likely sign as a free agent this week was the best pitcher on my team as a 12 yr old. The catch is that last time I saw these guys: Schutz (26th round draftee) was 8 years old. Mattingly (31st pick overall) was 8 years old. Arnold and Rogers (31st round pick) were 12 years old. I am not sure how this happened, because I am no older than I was then!

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 07:32 AM) $400,000 doesn't cover that. You are talking about 3 days worth of games, times 5000 seats, times how much money a ticket? Even if its just $30 each, the Big Ten is leaving money on the table, not to mention the 15,000 fans that just got left out of the tourney. That's going on the assumption that every session is sold out. Is that the case??

Evansville couldn't get it done today against the 'cocks, losing 5-1. Still a nice run by the Aces.

If the Big Ten handles their tournament anything like the SEC, they won't lose a dime in ticket sales. For the hosting contract, the Big Ten gets a guarantee regardless of ticket sales. They would not have chosen Indianapolis if the guarantee was significantly less. And YES, the coaches do have a major say in where the tournament is hosted. The SEC takes very strongly into account that their baseball coaches almost unanimously want their conference tournament in Birmingham (Hoover technically). Many factors are taken into account when making such a decision. Potential ticket sales and attendance is just part of it.

It's all relative. Depends on who's making the statement.

QUOTE(Brian @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 09:07 PM) Hey Rex, how did SIU fare this season? I honestly didn't really follow them at all. 33-25 overall 12-12 in the Valley, good for 5th place

QUOTE(BHAMBARONS @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 11:19 PM) Cory Rasmus is a good one if he slips that far the Sox's need to scoop him up, I watched him and his brother last year play in the Alabama State tournment. Really like Rasmus He and his brother were the stars of the Phenix City, AL team that played in the Little League World Series.

Evansville pounds South Carolina 15-5 to force a winner take all game tomorrow. So far this is the exact same path they took last week at the MVC Tourney.

Evansville finishes off Virginia 15-4. Onto South Carolina later today...

QUOTE(OldSox2 @ Jun 4, 2006 -> 01:09 PM) Anybody know how he's doing this year? He's batting .143 with no HR and 1 RBI.

Evansville taking a similar path to the one they took last week to win the Missouri Valley Tournament. They lost their opening round game and then won their way through the loser's bracket, beating up on good teams along the way, including run-ruling Wichita State and Southern Illinois. After beating Lehigh last night in a come-from-behind win, the Aces are currently beating top-seeded and host Virginia 11-1 in the 5th inning. Still a long way to go to finish off this game and facing the task of beating South Carolina twice. Stay tuned ;-) In other news, Smoke Laval (sp?) has resigned as LSU's Head Coach. LSU missed the NCAA tourney this year for the first time since 1988.