Mariano Rivera - Could this be the END?

I LOVE Sports. All sports. Doesn't matter what kind, where it is played or by whom, I will watch it! It's an escape. An escape for the moment from the problems of our lives, the troubles, the mundain or even the happiness that we go trough day in and day out.

Days like Wednesday May 3, 2012.

We first hear of the tragic passing of Junior Seau at the age of 43 of an apparent suicide. Like the tragic suicide of Ray Easterling and Dave Duerson, all talk is pointing again to a neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions. 
 
Then we hear the  National Football League finally lowered the boom on players it accuses of participating in a bounty system in New Orleans Saints suspending them for all or part of the 2012 season. Linebacker Jon Vilma was suspended for a year without pay, defensive end Will Smith received a four-game suspension without pay. Defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Packers, and linebacker Scott Fujita of the Cleveland Browns get suspensions of eight and three games, respectively, also without pay.

We then turn to the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series. A TRIPLE OVERTIME thriller, the 20th longest NHL playoff game EVER before Marian Gaborik's point-blank shot 14:41 into the third OT put the Rangers ahead. They hold a 2-1 series lead. A CLASSIC!

"I can't believe it," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said following a game that ended four hours 34 minutes after its first puck was dropped. "It's a feeling where, usually I scream and am so excited. I was just too tired. I was just kept saying, 'Oh, my God, it's over.' It felt like it was never going to end. It's a special feeling being a goalie and playing in overtime.

No soon as that was over at about 12:15am edt or so on Thursday word comes of Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels was pitching deep into the game against the Minnesota Twins having not allowing a Hit. The last time Angels fans witnessed one at home was in 1975, with Nolan Ryan on the mound), but Weaver's accomplishment was soaked with added significance. The 29-year-old Southern California native tossed the best game of his career, against the Minnesota Twins, in front of his parents, Dave and Gail Weaver, and his wife, Kristin, who sit together for Jered's starts, 20 rows behind home plate in section 119 of Angels Stadium. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Torii Hunter caught the last out and the day was capped off with a No-Hitter.

End of a UNBELIEVABLE sports Day.

But Thursday, May 3, 2012 had its own major story as well, The great Mariano Rivera, arguably the best closer EVER in baseball in professional baseball anywhere was going through his normal workout catching BP shagged balls hit by his teammates, something, we find out, he has done for his 20 years in the game. But this night was different in Kansas City.

Mariano Rivera was tracking down a ball hit by Jayson Nix in deep center field when his right knee appeared to buckle a step before the wall. He fell to the warning track and immediately grabbed at his right knee, briefly covering his face with his glove and grimacing in pain.

Bullpen coach Mike Harkey was near Rivera when he went down, and he was the first to whistle for help. Manager Joe Girardi was watching batting practice from behind home plate and started running down, cutting across the outfield to get to his closer.

Near home plate, teammate Alex Rodriguez could be seen saying, ''Oh, my God. Oh, my God.''
Harkey and Girardi helped to carry Rivera to the cart, gently setting him into the back with his knee propped up. The cart rounded the warning track before disappearing up a tunnel.

We now find out that the 42-year-old Rivera  has a torn ACL in his right knee and will probably have surgery ending his season. Examined by the Royals associate physician Dr. Joe Noland, team physician, Dr. Vincent Key and Yankees trainers, and was sent immediately for an MRI exam at KU MedWest and results were told by Yankees manager Joe Girardi, “If that’s the report,” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said, “if that’s what it is, that’s as bad as it gets.”

This could mean we have seen the last of Mariano as a player. He had hinted in spring training he already has made up his mind if this would be his last season and reports were he was going to leave the game at the end of this season.

If this is how it ends, how tragic and unfair, but that is the nature of sports nor life. We are just living each day and trying to do our best and sometimes what happens is fate, luck, good or bad or just the grand plan  of things.

You never know, so ALWAYS give your best and hope that is good enough!

WATCH VIDEO of Mariano Injury 

My PC with XP is LOST in the iCloud!

 TRYING TO GET A VIDEO OFF MY iPHONE!

Yes I am STILL running Windows XP.

I PASSED on VISTA, along with most everyone. Haven't tried Windows 7 which everyone is raving about! And now along comes Windows 8 that is supposed to be released sometime in the fall.

The clock is literately ticking on my PC as Microsoft announced it will no longer support XP in 2 years on  April 8, 2014. They even have provided a countdown clock for you to download.     (click here)

The reason I bring all this up is because now I have an iPhone. Yes my first Apple product. I have to admit, I LOVE IT! BUT, with my iPhone and running windows XP "I am lost in the iCloud!" Apple's new iCloud sharing system DOES NOT SUPPORT XP!

To enable iCloud on your Windows PC, install the iCloud Control Panel for Windows (Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 required).

So I can NOT share anything between my iphone and the iCloud to get it on my PC. I tried to hook up my phone to my computer through iTunes to get a video I had recorded of my family singing, we are very talented ;-).
The video did not show up in iTunes. It was there in My Computer listed as a drive under camera, but could NOT and would NOT drag and drop on my computer. I tried the Scanner and Camera wizard to transfer this video but again it would NOT transfer. I tried downloading various Apps,Simple Photo & Video,some using just the light version before I pay for it to make sure it would work, they would NOT work. Some had a restriction saying you can only transfer the first 50 items listed others just FAILED miserably.

I was running out of options. I thought about Drop Box, but reading the reviews people were disturbed that you had to enable the location device on your phone saying why they would force you to do this saying invasion of privacy...PASS. AGREED!

Then I thought of Microsoft's New CLOUD service of there on, SKYDIVE! I quickly downloaded there App to my iPhone. Already had a Windows Live ID. Logged in, choose the video file and in a matter of minutes it uploaded a pretty large over 5 minute file! Went to my PC running XP, logged in it was there, downloaded it to my PC and it played and was fine!  BUT........

So now I wanted to run the desktop Application of SkyDive but again found out this:

Operating system: 32- or 64-bit version of Windows 7, or Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008. 

This too WONT run on XP! FAIL! 

So for now I will use Microsoft SkyDive. You get 7GB of storage FREE, you can also purchase more. It works for now somewhat together with my iPhone and Windows XP. But I guess technology is moving faster then the speed of light, and eventually these BIG companies force you, i.e. APPLE & MICROSOFT, to get there NEW and improve systems otherwise they leave you out in the CLOUDS!

TELL ME YOUR STORY! ARE YOU TOO LOST IN THE CLOUDS!!!

Ozzie Guillen Suspended by Marlins/Miami Surprised at WHO there Manager Is!

"I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive] is still here."(in an interview with Time's Sean Gregory.)

Those words have created a firestorm in the south beach Cuban community of Miami. Political officials, local community leaders and the general public are outraged and are calling for the MLB Miami Marlins to Fire him or that Ozzie Guillen should step down as manager of the baseball team and resign.

On Tuesday April 10, 2012, the Marlins did announce that they have suspended there manager Ozzie Guillen for FIVE games saying in a statement,  

"The Marlins acknowledge the seriousness of the comments attributed to Guillen," read a statement from the team. "The pain and suffering caused by Fidel Castro cannot be minimized, especially in a community filled with victims of the dictatorship."

Ozzie held a press conference on Tuesday at the new Marlins $634 million ballpark — funded mostly by taxpayers — in Little Havana as 30 or so protestors picketed outside. He said, 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/10/2739843_p2/miami-marlins-ozzie-guillen-in.html#storylink=cpy

“What I was trying to say is that a person who has been in power for so long and has hurt so many people can still be in power,” Guillén said. "I'm very sorry about the problem, what happened, I will do everything in my power to make it better. ... I know it's going to be a very bumpy ride. To fix my problem with the community is more important than the suspension and the money. This is the biggest mistake I've made so far in my life, When you make a mistake like this, you can't sleep. ... When you're a sportsman, you shouldn't be involved with politics. It was misinterpreted by what I mean in Spanish."

The first amendment was sited by some as a defense for Ozzie to be able to say and speak what ever he wants without fears of persecution or reprisals. In fact Keith Olbermann was so kind to re-print the amendment for all to read, 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

What Ozzie Guillen said was WRONG, STUPID and UNINFORMED! But this is the USA, NOT CUBA!!!! The 48-year-old Venezuelan manager is no stranger to controversy and has been a favorite of the sports press for his eccentric and sometimes divisive comments.

THIS is Ozzie Guillen, a man who has said CRAZY, STUPID, WRONG things before.

Look at his history:

After managing the Chicago White Sox to a World Series title in 2005, Guillen took photographs holding the Venezuelan flag while appearing to yell, "Viva Chavez."

 "I like Chavez the man," he said. "I don't say I like him politically, because I don't agree with a lot of the stuff he does and says. But I have a right to like somebody, and I like the man."

  When I read about how hard he worked since he was 6-years-old to be president of Venezuela, I felt proud." He twice appeared on a radio show hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in October 2005, when Guillen led the Chicago White Sox to the World Series title. At the time, Guillen said: "Not too many people like the president. I do."

A 2008 Men’s Journal article asked him “Who’s the toughest man you know?” Guillen’s response, according to the magazine: 

“Fidel Castro. He’s a bulls— dictator and everybody’s against him, and he still survives, has power. Still has a country behind him. Everywhere he goes they roll out the red carpet. I don’t admire his philosophy. I admire him.”

Where was the outrage in the local Miami community when they hired Ozzie Guillen to be the Marlins baseball manager? He was embraced and welcomed into the community and no one protested the hiring of the man who says "Outrageous, crazy, stupid, uninformed remarks. 

Players like Jose Reyes came to the ball club for him(and money) and Hanley Ramirez moved to third base cause Ozzie asked him too.

You knew who you were getting. You certainly read the history of the man in local papers or word of mouth. Yet you said NOTHING! He was one of you, until today.

This is who he is. He's done this before, he will most certainly say stupid things again. You can't like him before this latest incident knowing his history and hate him now!

Before he was someone else's manager. Someone else's problem. Who cares what he said!

NOW THEY DO!!!!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/10/2739843/miami-marlins-ozzie-guillen-in.html#storylink=cpy

5 FREE Apps worth a LOOK......

Viggle: (App) This has become one of my favorite Apps. It's premise is simple;

Watch TV. Get Rewards.

 As there web site explains: Viggle is a loyalty program for television that gives people real rewards for checking into the television shows they’re watching. Currently available for Apple iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®, Viggle automatically identifies what television shows its users are watching and awards them points when they check-in. Viggle users can redeem their points in the app’s rewards catalogue for items such as movie tickets, music, gift cards and much more. 

It is indeed simple to use. Just launch the App, sign in with the e-mail and password you set up head to setting fill in some personal info if desired, add a picture, enter your zip code,choose your TV provider ,add tour Facebook or Twitter account set your App notification's and your ready to VIGGLE!

From the main screen tap the giant V to activate and it will listen to the audio of the program to identify getting you points for doing so. Also there are numerous other ways to garner points all adding up to get gift cards & discounts from Best Buy to iTunes to JC Penny just to name a few.

It works. Got my first reward a $10 iTunes card (gave to my niece) earning 14,000 points. It takes time & dedication and sometimes the audio recognition doesn't work but you can enter show manually. 

WORTH THE GET! Price: FREE  

TWITTER (App) Addictive. Before I got a smart phone I had to tweet from my computer. But this app lest you tweet everywhere. It comes integrated already with the iPhone 4S. Just install & your ready! From the welcome screen just type in your username & password that you already use and that's it! Simple, Easy and as I said very addictive.

 You now can tweet pictures, links, anything from wherever you are fast and easy. Check on your connections Interactions / Mentions with ease.  #Discover top stories, trends and browse categories of who to follow or find friends with a simple touch. You can also import your contacts from your phone to find out who else is on twitter.

Under the "ME" section access your Tweets,who your following and whose following you. See your direct messages,saved drafts, your lists & saved searches. You can add multiple twitter accounts if you have them, ie personal business, and switch with ease. Edit your profile and other settings. 

BUT lately there have been problems. LOTS OF PROBLEMS! Occasionally, getting more frequently, I get the error message, "Error Loading Tweets (400). Tap to..." When that happens nothing works. Not even restarting the phone. It last for 15 - 30 minutes before it returns. It's NOT an iPhone issue or even my issue I have noticed others complaining about it. It is VERY ANNOYING!

Also App crashes, get non-responses and app misbehavior! TWITTER fix these issues and this is a must have

 

WORTH THE GET! Price: FREE  

 HBO Go (App) It's just what the name says. Watch HBO on demand on your phone anytime anywhere. Get unlimited access to all your favorite HBO shows, hit movies, sports, comedy and more, plus bonus features and behind-the-scenes extras.

 It’s all free with your HBO subscription through participating television providers. To watch shows on HBO GO you need an HBO subscription through a participating television provider.( AT&T U-Verse TV, BendBroadband, Blue Ridge Communications, Bright House, Charter, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV-Puerto Rico, DISH, Grande Communications, Massillon Cable/CPI, Mediacom, Optimum, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and WOW!)

Got that. SO if you are a current subscriber to HBO and your providor is lested above you can downlaond this App & watch on your mobile device.

Sound and picture quality is good, WiFi is better. You sign in using your current user name and password you use with the provider that you have.

Broken down with categories, search, watch list, it's a fairly simple but very useful app. Customize your settings, profile even has a parental controls feature. Have not had any problems with stability or use. In short it's a GREAT App to have ON-THE-GO.

WORTH THE GET! Price: FREE  

MLB Beat the Streak (App) A new game this year by MLB this app supports it and makes it very easy to play, although both my picks were wrong and I'm back to square one.

The object of MLB.com Beat the Streak (the "Contest") is to establish a virtual "hitting streak" and keep it going for as long as possible. You'll do this by selecting one (1) or two (2) Major League Baseball ("MLB") player(s) each game day, from a list displayed by MLB.com. If the player you select gets at least one hit in the game for which you selected him, your streak continues. If the player you select does not get a hit, you can still participate, but your streak automatically ends and will be set to zero. You must select a player each MLB game day; however, you can make your daily player selections for up to ten (10) calendar days in the future. 

The Contest begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on April 4, 2012 and ends following the conclusion of the final game of the 2012 MLB regular season (the "Contest Period")

There's a save your streak sponsored by Scotts if you like there facebook page. You can also "double down" pick two players but BOTH must get a hit otherwise its back to square one.

The App has My picks section, leader board,history and  settings. You can also set reminders to notify you to make a pick.

57-Game Hitting Streak Prize
The first eligible participant, if any, to achieve at least a fifty-seven (57) game hitting streak, as determined by MLBAM in its sole discretion, will win five million, six hundred thousand U.S. dollars (US$5,600,000. If no participant achieves a 57-game hitting streak or greater during the Contest Period, as determined by MLBAM, the eligible participant with the longest hitting streak during the Contest Period greater than or equal to twenty (20) will win ten thousand dollars (US $10,000) (the "Grand Prize").

There are also 30,35 and 45 game hitting streak prizes as well monthly prizes. Check official rules.
So far it's fun, quick, takes little time and effort and not much space and maybe I can win something. 

WORTH THE GET! Price: FREE 

Camera Awesome  Lets face it. The camera that comes with the iPhone 4S is....Well.... It's JUST OK. Biggest problem with it is the flash, everything is always too bright, and lack of features to do anything.

But this camera is.... well...AWESOME! Ease of use you can tap the screen or the camera icon to take pictures. Zoom, Settings Focus and Exposure, image stabilization, slow/fast burst,timer features,composition. Adjustments for flash. 

You can quickly share it with integrated Twitter, Flicker, Facebook, youtube and others and export it to your phones camera roll.

The edit feature can adjust brightness, crop and filters and other features.

It also takes video and is easily switched between both. For a FREE camera, NOT BAD!

 

WORTH THE GET! Price: FREE

The New iPad, Apple TV, IOS 5.1 & More...

WHAT!?

Yes that is what they are calling it! NOT the iPad 3 or iPad HD. Just "The New iPad"!

Whatever they call it, lets take a closer look at Apple's next generation iPad!

The event starts out with Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO taking over now for the late Steve Jobs. Let's face it, no one could command an audience and dazzle an event like Steve Jobs, but Tim Cook tried his best. He's bland and unemotional and really doesn't command an audience as Jobs.

Lets look at the Event.

Apple Stores 
 including there crown jewel in NYC at Grand Central Station.Over 3,000 people came for the opening as they showed a brief video presentation.

SiRi
Now I have been using Siri since I got my iPhone 4S back in December 2011. It is great BUT has many drawbacks. Interrogation with the Apps is a MAJOR ONE! Not understanding, getting confused etc are more. What would YOU like to change on SiRi?
The new announcement was that Siri is coming to Japan. A brief audio presentation of Siri in other languages, Australian, French, German and Japanese.

IOS 5.1

The latest update promises to fix issues with battery life, Camera shortcut now always visable on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, 4 & 4GS and iPod touch(4th Generation) Just touch the camera icon and sweep up to open. Among other improvements and changes listed to the right.
Now available for download.












App Store

Almost 600 thousand apps, and Chunli Fu of Qingdau, China downloaded the 25th Billionth App, a free version of Disney's "Where's my Water?'. For that Apple gave him a $10,000 iTunes gift card. NOT BAD!

iCloud
Again totting this, Keeps ALL your devices in sink. Over 100 Million custermers. "It Just Works!" Except NOT on my Windows XP, NOT supported so I am "Lost in the iCloud's!" Itunes in the cloud for your Music, TV shows and NOW.....Your Movies. And now movies and TV shows in iTunes now support 1080P HD.....for.....
Apple TV
A new Apple TV that now supports 1080P available next week for $99. Comes with a new streamlined user interface. News, Sports, Movies, TV Shows, Music that you have purchased and your photos.

"The New iPad" 

They did not call it iPad3 or ipad HD, just the "The New iPad". With Retina Display-9.7" screen. Sharper Graphics,Text,High resolution of 2048 x 1536(a typical 50" or 70" HD TV has a 1920 x 1280) 263 PPI 44% better color then iPad2.
A new A5X chip Quad-Core Graphics.
iSight Camera 5-megapixal sensor,backside illumination,5-Element lens, Hybrid IR Filter, Apple Designed ISP. Has auto focus-exposure,face detection.
Also HD 1080P video recording, Image stabilization video and temporal noise deduction.
Voice Dictation- Just speak into your New iPad and it will type what you say.
Next generation Wireless- Supports now HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, 4G LTE. Faster downloads, video. 3G world play, personnal hotspot,WiFi,Blus Tooth.
10 Hour battery life, on 4G 9 hours.

Apps for the New iPad

Updated iWork, Keynote, Pages and Numbers. Stunning new 3d charts and annimations $9.99 each

 
GarageBand - New features,Smart Strings,Note Editor,iCloud and sharing. Also Jam Session where up to 4 people can sync and perform together. $4.99

iMovie - New update now can create your own movie trailer. $4.99


iPhoto - Smart browsing, multi-touch editing, professional quality effects, new brushes, photo beaming, photo Journals using iCloud $4.99


All in all what most experts were expecting. No real surprises. Some nice new features but nothing that really blows you away.

So are you going to run out and get one?????