U23D

Winston-Salem, NC – Last week, I saw the incredible “U23D” movie which was basically like having a front row seat to the world’s best live show. In this glossy, 3D movie (yes, you get your own cool Bono-esque 3D shades), U2 performs 14 of their most mainstream songs from their most recent tour, The Vertigo Tour, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 3D effects place the audience on mobile pedestals built around the stage. During “Love and Peace or Else,” animation facetiously comes into play as Bono mimics turning the volume of a television down. Subsequently, in “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” the audience and the instrumented are phased out as Bono pleads, “No More (war, hunger).”

There was another unique aspect that I caught during the encore. No matter how many shows U2 plays and no matter how many edits take place of the filming itself, there is a major error in “The Fly.” In the opening guitar riff, Edge’s echoic guitar malfunctions. In the background, you can hear The Edge screaming for Dallas (his guitar technician) that the guitar is broken. To buy some time, Bono asks the crowd, “Where is the fly?” I thought that it was pretty cool that U2 intentionally threw that breakdown in the movie. If you were in the crowd, you would have never noticed that there was a technical difficulty.

By memory, here is the set list:

• Vertigo
• Beautiful Day
• New Year’s Day
• Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
• Love and Peace or Else
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Bullet the Blue Sky
• Miss Sarajevo
• Pride (In the Name of Love)
• Where the Streets Have No Name
• One
• The Fly
• With or Without You
• Yahweh

Go check it out; it’s worth the price of admission.

The Brave Triumphate

Greensboro, NC -- If you're a baseball fan, you shouldn't go a day without reading the daily blog of Buster Olney. Olney brought up a great point today in the possibility of the three former Braves stalwarts, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz all retiring in the same year.

Both Maddux and Glavine will be turning 42 this year, and Smoltz will be turning 41. Maddux has 357 career victories, placing him 7 wins behind Roger Clemens. Glavine has 303 wins, and Smoltz has 207 with 154 career saves. Between the three of them, they have seven Cy Youngs. Conceivably, all three could return in 2009 with their respective clubs. However, all three could retire at season's end. I'm always a proponent for a "good" storyline. Wouldn't it be great if all three retired after the same season and were inducted into the Hall-of-Fame together? Unlike fellow pitchers and friends Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, none of these three pitchers has been linked to the steroid scandal that has plagued baseball during their time. However, you could almost compare Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz to David Halberstam's book, "The Teammates." Halberstam illustrates how four teammates for the Red Sox, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, were best friends both on and off the field. That friendship carried all four of them through difficult times, especially during the 1946 World Series heartbreaking loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. It lasted all the way up until Williams' death in 1999.

The current differences among the three are where they're slotted in thir respective rotations. Glavine couldn't stand being away from Atlanta, even after his icy ending in 2002. He'll gladly slide in as the number three starter for the Braves. Similarly, Maddux doesn't have to be, nor is he the ace that he once was for the Braves. He can mentor the two young stud pitchers, NL Cy Young Winner Jake Peavy and Chris Young, from the third starter spot. Conversely, Smoltz still has an above average fastball and a dominant splitter. The latter does cause an enormous strain on his elbow. By cutting out the simulated games and reducing the number of spring training starts, Smoltz hopes to build some endurance for the full season. The Braves will need it if they're going to challenge the Mets and Johan Santana.

Stan's Man

Winston-Salem, NC -- Can you believe that this man is running a $100M baseball operation? I guess when you make some shrewd roster moves, have the best baseball draft (ranked by Baseball America), and aren't expected to win many games, you can do whatever you want.

We're Back!

Greensboro, NC -- Apologies for the LONG delay in churning out a new blog. Believe me, the lack of blogs wasn't due to a shortage of stories, more like a shortage of free time. The student loan industry usually has a mini "peak" during this time of year due to the number of students needing cash before they go back for second semester. I hope to have the blog return to its normal daily schedule starting next week when things begin to slow down for me. For now, I'll clean out the sports notebook with some "this and that."

• The Redskins hired a coach! As a diehard fan, I always want this team to succeed, but there's something about Daniel Snyder that makes me want to see them fail until he learns his lesson. By "learning his lesson," I mean hiring a real GM and staying as far away as possible from the football operations. Snyder may be a competent and successful business man, but that doesn't equate to success on the football field. The draft is there for a reason, Danny Boy!
• I like Jim Zorn... as an offensive coordinator. Something scares me about someone who has never called a play before in the NFL becoming a head coach. Spagnuolo was a wise man by taking the Giants' offer of 3 years-$6M to remain their defensive coordinator. Time to start from scratch on implementing a new offensive scheme, considering that worked wonders when Al Saunders came in 2006.
• Still can't believe the Giants won the Super Bowl... are you happy now, Giants fans?
• I set-up my annual fantasy baseball league today, the second sign following the opening of spring training that baseball is right around the corner! For those of you in my league, your $20 donation to my money clip is greatly appreciated!
• It's funny how Angelos is so hands-on about being involved in trades and free agent signings. Every deal has to cross his desk. The Bedard trade moved at a snail's pace because there was a rumor that Adam Jones, the centerpiece of the deal coming to the Orioles, might have had a degenerative hip. Sound familiar? How about Albert Belle and that 5 year-$65M mistake to make-up for the Palmeiro gaffe? And now it's reported that LHP Troy Patton, the crown jewel of the Tejada trade, might need elbow ligament surgery. Is there a pattern here with meddlesome owners?
• Stan Kasten's "The Plan" surely looks good right now. A year ago today, we thought that the Nats would be playing for the worst record in baseball history. What a turnaround... Baseball America has ranked the Nats' farm system 9th this year after finishing 30th last year. The front office has amassed several talented pitching prospects. Dukes, Pena, Milledge, and Kearns vying for 3 spots in th outfield. Young and Johnson fighting it out for first base. Lopez, Guzman, and Belliard for the middle infield. There's talent here, something that you can't say about the team 35 miles to the north. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nats finished above .500 this year.
• The Giants replaced Barry Bonds with Aaron Rowand. Rowand signed a 5 year-$60M contract with the Giants this past offseason. Rowand, considered a tough, crowd pleasing ballplayer, said this this past fall: "I'm all about winning." Sure.
• My sleeper team this year: The Cincinnati Reds. The NL Central is the weakest division in baseball.
• Do you remember the bestseller Moneyball? Here's a classless article from The New York Times' Murray Chass on Jeremy Reed, the misfit catcher and central character of the book, who Billy Beane selected with the A's first pick in the 2002 draft. Speaking of classless articles from The New York Times, what an utter piece of garbage/senseless journalism that the paper produced about John McCain this week.
• There's nothing better than seeing overpaid people going down... Clemens, Boras, Bonds, etc. Boras has been ripped by Gary Sheffield, Kenny Rogers, and A-Rod for his egregious negotiating methods. You know it's bad when the players are complaining, not the GM's. As for Clemens, his fate rests in the hands of his best friend, Andy Pettitte. Bonds is out of work and will probably be for the rest of his life. Signing baseballs at auctions and trade shows do not count. Even with his tax issues, perjury charges, and the like, I think he's ok, considering that he's made $188,245,322 in career earnings.
• Mets, Braves, Phillies, Nats, Marlins in that order for the NL East Standings this year.