Chicago: They paved a fetid swamp/and put up a parking lot

Aww! Good for them! (That was sincere.)

Something happened with the Yankees and whoever they played, too.

I think the Rays won against the Yankees and somehow mananged to get the wild card spot in the playoffs?

This post-season will be very sad, I can't believe the red sox didn't make it.

OH SNAP i can try and explain it but it might be complicated: basically a month ago the red sox and the braves were thought to have pretty commanding leads in their respective divisions, with people considering them almost certain locks to make the playoffs. in the past month, both teams essentially collapsed, losing tons of games. because of this, the tampa bay rays tied the record of the red sox earlier this week, but the rays had to play the (very good) yankees for their last three games, while the red sox got to play the (very bad) orioles.

before last night's game, the two teams were still tied. if they both lost or both won, they would have had to play a tie-breaker game today to see who got the wild-card spot for the playoffs. last night, the red sox took a 2-0 lead over the orioles, while the rays simultaneously fell behind 0-7 against the yankees, so people were pretty sure the red sox would get the wild card spot. however, the orioles came from behind and ended up beating the red sox 3-2, mainly thanks to some terrible defensive playing by the red sox. at the same time, the rays managed to score six runs in the eighth inning, then hit a tying home run in the 9th inning with two outs to tie the game at 7-7. the game went to extra innings and then evan longoria of the rays hit a home run in the 12th to win the game against the yankees, taking the rays to the playoffs.

nate silver wrote a piece in the NYT showing that the red sox's collapse in the past month was possibly historically the worst collapse in baseball ever.

meanwhile, the same thing was happening somewhat less dramatically with the braves and the cardinals. the braves fell apart and the cardinals ended up moving into the playoff spot on the last day of the regular season (yesterday).

there was the possibility that there would have had to be two tie-breaker games today before the playoffs could start, which has never happened.

i feel like that was not a good explanation.

shorter version: two different teams simultaneously and in unlikely fashion came from behind to barely make it into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season by winning vital games in dramatic fashion. like in a movie.

this might be clearer, if anyone still cares: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/222030/20110929/tampa-bay-rays-st-louis-cardinals-boston-red-sox-atlanta-braves.htm

ha ha that shut everyone up.

I'm really glad I read this i feel like that was not a good explanation. before reading your long post.

i feel like that was not a good explanation.

No! That was perfect. Well-written and very clear.

That's kind of a baseball stats/historian geeks dream right there. I can't wait until somebody makes a sports documentary about it.

well the red sox/rays thing was also really satisfying because the red sox have won two world series in recent years, have a huge budget, etc., while the rays are the relatively low-budget team without big star players. it's always fun to see the underdog be victorious. that's why the braves/cardinals thing wasn't as exciting for me, i don't really find either team particularly likeable so i wasn't as personally invested.

did you enjoy moneyball y/n?

haven't seen it yet, planning to go this weekend. expect to enjoy it though. i liked the book.

there's actually a moneyball-esque book about the rays too (i've haven't read it): http://www.amazon.com/Extra-2-Street-Strategies-Baseball/dp/0345517652

I'm surprised how uninterested I am in baseball these days. It used to be my #1 sport.

i saw moneyball last weekend and fell asleep within 2 min of the movie starting. i dozed off periodically, but never all the way because i wanted to be polite.

i haven't been following baseball as closely this season because both chicago teams were mediocre to bad through the whole season but i'll be following the playoffs since 3 of the 4 first series have teams that i like playing against teams i don't like (i.e. clear options to root for).

Opening scene could inspire a tired person to snooze like someone smoking in a movie makes a smoker want to light up:

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/w250/n64/brad%20pitt%20moneyball.jpg

I really enjoyed it.

one of the worst things when sarah is out of town is figuring out what to eat. i don't know how to cook for one person. so i end up eating unhealthy single-serving things from trader joe's or making a family-sized meal and getting sick of eating leftovers by the second day. i kind of just want to buy the caramelized onion dip from TJs and some chips and have that for dinner but i know i'd feel gross. even though it sounds delicious.

I'm going to make a weird intrusion on this thread to ask a question for which you folks might have thoughts: I have a, uh, friend who might have the chance to move to Champaign-Urbana in the near future. Are there things about living there that my friend should ask about while visiting, or consider as he decides whether he wants to move there, should he get that chance?

I ask here because it's sorta in the Chicago orbit & you or folks you know might have gone to school there. Hence the intrusion!

xp when I was livin' single I ate a lot of the following:

carrots or pita w/ hummus
BLTs
tacos
SWAD indian food

nb I still eat those things frequently aside from the SWAD

I lived there for the six years I spent is an undergrad and in grad school, so I may be of some help, although judging from my last couple visits a few years ago, that place has changed dramatically since I left in 2000.

(xpost to Euler)

xp I do the same thing when Jeff is out of town. The last time he traveled I bought lots of quick but healthy TJ's foods and then ate a tube of crescent rolls for dinner.

Probably just get the chips and dip, really. Temporary bachelorhood is the best time to wallow in your own crapulence.

Is the move university related? My understanding is that C-U is very much a college town, so if you like that sort of thing… You can always take a train to hang out with awesome Chicagoans. Or your friend can, I mean.

I'm happy to take the convo elsewhere, but if you have any thoughts on how it's changed & what should be asked about/considered re. living there. University things will be covered suitably no matter what so really I'm just curious about life there, e.g. I've heard about lousy schools & crime & I dunno if that's just dumb panic or something real-ish.

Not that I'm the boss but I am interested in life in C-U and don't mind that convo being here. I have a snotty cityperson perception of C-U as a rural shithole with a drunk lolcollege in the middle of it and could probably stand to be disabused of that opinion.

i got my master's degree from u of i but it was distance education so i only went down there a few times (though i was there for two weeks living in a dorm). iirc the university is mainly in urbana, which is pretty much like a big college town, lots of bars, fast food, etc., whereas champaign is nicer and has a downtown area with old movie theaters, some better restaurants, and at least once nice bar with fancy beers.

ah the blind pig is the nice bar. also the cowboy monkey gets some good midlevel touring bands if you are into guitar music.

If it is a rural shithole that's ok as it would be a slightly bigger rural shithole than current one & living close-ish (by American standards) to Chicago would be good.

I like guitar music! I haven't lived in a college town on "the circuit" ever & think it would be pretty ok---used to drive from South Bend to Chicago to see shows which was a hassle.

Eh, Jenny's not entirely wrong, but its also a pretty reductive view. I mean, C-U is interesting because there are lots of fun/interesting things to do that aren't particularly rural or drunk lolcollege but you do have to work a little harder to find them.

There are definitely some areas where crime can be a concern, but not to the point of needing to ever be scared or anything like that. Just saying, the only time I've been mugged in my life was in Champaign (far off campus) and not ever in the decade plus I've spent living and working in and near Chicago.

Urbana, east of the university proper, has some nice, quiet neighborhoods that aren't bad. They are far enough away from the noisy lolcollege areas (all the frats and party houses are typically on the west side of campus over to Neil St) but close enough that you can enjoy the arty stuff on campus, like the Krannert Center and whatnot. North of campus, well north (like north of 74) is your typical shitty suburban sprawl with strip malls and awful traffic, but sometimes that area is unavoidable when you have to run errands.

The biggest change is campustown itself which used to be a lot like any other Midwestern campustown, but lately they've tried to turn it into a mini-Chicago with trendy boutiques, hi-rises (relatively, for Champaign), and your typical strip mall stores (Subway, etc).

Let me see what else I can dredge up from the memory banks, but thats a start.

n/a is right about the University being mostly in Urbana, but all the bars and stuff are on the Champaign side. Downtown Champaign is kinda nice, but when I was last down there it had a lot of empty storefronts.

i just looked at the cowboy monkey site and it looks pretty shitty now. there's also another venue that's more on-campus that has a smaller bar stage as well as a big theater, can't remember what it's called. i wouldn't really think of champaign-urbana itself as being rural, since UIUC is so big, though the surrounding area is pretty rural.

also beer is very very cheap in C-U, at least compared to Chicago.

n/a is probably thinking of The Canopy Club, when I was down there it was always host to touring jambands

If High Dive is still in downtown Champaign, kinda near the train station, that is a decent place to go.

yeah canopy club. my old band played in their front room, which sucked, and at cowboy monkey, which was pretty nice, which is why it sucks they don't appear to be booking good bands anymore. ilxor todd swiss came to our show at cowboy monkey, i wonder why he doesn't post anymore.

huh yeah, that's helpful. basically I need to figure what to ask about when visiting there, & what to think about regarding whether to take the chance should it materialize.

La Lechera, you should do this race: http://www.allcommunityevents.com/cornmaze/wlcm_run_home.html

― Jeff, Wednesday, August 17, 2011 12:24 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

I signed up for this. I didn't even realize it was 9/11 themed.

I'm not sure what questions I'd advise you to ask, really. I'd say schedule some extra time to take a drive around the city and that would really give you a feel for the place.

ok cool!

I'll poke my head in this thread now & then to see if anything comes up but I don't mean to sidetrack things; you all have a good thing going on here.

n/a, is there anything you like to eat but she doesn't care for the smell of? Now's your chance.

i usually go get a banh mi at some point.

Sorry, no really 9/11. Freedom themed.

how long is the corn maze run? it doesn't say. also it seems dangerous that the path crosses over itself at a couple of places, won't people be running into each other?

3.1 miles. Just a 5K. I can't imagine the magnitude of the corn maze that would be required for a longer race.

Danger is part of the fun.

I was going to go bc lol freedom corn maze but I'd have to get up at like 4 am to go w/ Jeff which is straight bullshit.

Euler, srsly this whole thread is a giant, regional sidetrack. It's okay.

Jenny's right! We like outlanders.

lol "SO EXCITING!"

http://www.allcommunityevents.com/cornmaze/corn-maze-chicago.jpg

Did some sports team just do something significant? There is a great deal of screaming and whistle blowing on the street.

Huh. It's a huge group of men and women in dresses - most of them pink or may be red - running. Running really loudly.

My friend in NOLA takes part in a Red Dress run every year. Is that a thing elsewhere? Men in red dresses, running a race?