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#89 – Darrin Jackson

djName: Darrin Jackson

Rank: 89

Position: RF

Years With White Sox: 1994, 1999

Darrin Jackson signed with the White Sox as a free agent prior to the 1994 season.  He set career highs with a .312 batting average and a .817 OPS during the strike-shortened season, thanks in part to two separate 8 game hitting streaks.  With uncertainty about the state of MLB heading in to the 1995 season, Jackson moved on to the Japanese leagues.

He returned to the White Sox in January, 1999, again signing as a free agent.  He appeared in 73 games, getting only 149 at bats and ended the year hitting .275.  He retired following the year and joined the White Sox broadcast booth, replacing Tom Paciorek as the color analyst on television along side Hawk Harrelson.  In 2009, he moved over to the radio side, where he remains to this day.

Jackson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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CBS Upfronts

bbtFor the first time this century, CBS announced a new fall schedule this week without a version of CSI in the mix.  Instead, the Tiffany network looked to other familiar properties, and stars, to fill the holes in their lineup.  With the network again airing football on Thursday nights for the first 2 months of the season, there will be much juggling going on, starting on Monday, where The Big Bang Theory returns until football ends.  It will be followed by Kevin Can Wait, a new show featuring former CBS star Kevin James.  Once football ends, James moves up a half hour and will be followed by Man With A Plan, starring former Friend Matt LeBlanc.  2 Broke Girls, The Odd Couple, and Scorpion round out the night.

Tuesday wraps two versions of NCIS around Bull, a new drama starring former NCIS star Michael Weatherly as, and you can’t make this up, a young version of Dr. Phil.  No changes on Wednesday night, where Criminal Minds returns for its 12th season.  Thursday, starting in November, starts with The Big Bang Theory, followed by the new Joel McHale-helmed The Great Indoors.  The night finishes with Pure Genius, a new drama from the creator of Parenthood.

Friday sees a new version of MacGuyver, followed by the returning Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods.  Sunday adds another version of NCIS to fill the hole left by The Good Wife.

Gone and never to be seen again are The Good Wife and summer staple Under The Dome.  Gone and destined to be seen again is Supergirl, which is moving to the CW.  Gone and maybe seen again is Limitless, which didn’t make the schedule but is not officially cancelled and is looking for a new home.

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ABC Upfronts

agents_of_shield_bannerLots of changes coming this fall on ABC, as the network announced their upcoming schedule this week.  4 shows that I’ve been watching, Castle, The Muppets, Agent Carter, and the summer series Rookie Blue, were given the heave ho, leaving lots of holes in their, and my, schedule.

Conviction, a new legal drama starring Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell, moves in to the post-Dancing With The Stars slot on Monday vacated by Castle.  Tuesday sees the network expand their comedy block to two hours, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. moving back to the 9pm hour.  Minnie Driver stars in the new comedy Speechless, airing before Modern Family on Wednesday.  Following Black-ish comes Designated Survivor, a new drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as the new President after a devastating attack on Washington DC.

Thursday gets some new blood, thanks to Scandal star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy, in the form of Notorious, a sexy legal drama starring Piper Perabo and breaking Shonda Rhimes stranglehold on the night, at least until the spring.  Friday nights stay exactly the same, as do Sundays.  Saturday is still left for college football.

The mid-season slate, aside from the returning Scandal, looks uneventful.

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FOX Upfronts

24LegacyEverything old is new again at FOX, as their upfront presentation included new versions of 24, Lethal Weapon, The Exorcist, and Prison Break.  As is their norm, FOX announced multiple schedules, one for the fall and another for mid-season.

In the fall, Mondays remain the same, with Gotham followed by Lucifer.  24: Legacy, starring Corey Hawkins, premieres following the Super Bowl in February before settling in on Mondays.  Tuesdays comedy block gets reduced to Brooklyn Nine-Nine followed by New Girl, followed by the returning Scream Queens.

Wednesday is the home of the Lethal Weapon reboot, starring Damon Wayans in the Danny Glover role of Murtaugh.  The final season of Bones moves back an hour on Thursday in the fall, before giving way to the return of Prison Break in the spring.  Friday brings the adaptation of The Exorcist, which sounds like a horrible idea.

Gone, but not forgotten, are Bordertown, Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, Grandfathered, The Grinder, Knock Knock Live, Minority Report, and Second Chance.

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NBC Upfronts

good-place-danson-bellNBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday and, with something different on every night, it will look much different from the spring.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice leading in to the latest from the creators of Supernatural and The Shield, Timeless, about a trio of time travelers trying to save the history of the US.

Tuesday adds This Is Us, a new show staring Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia about ” a unique ensemble whose paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways.”  Blindspot moves from the cushy post-Voice slot to try and lead off Wednesday nights.  The Good Place, a new comedy starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, arrives on Thursday, with The Blacklist moving back an hour.

Friday and Saturday remain uninspiring, with football remaining on Sundays, at least in the fall.  Mid-season shows include a new vampire series inspired by True Blood author Charlaine Harris’s books, The Blacklist: Redemption, a spin-off starring Famke Janssen, a “reimagining” of The Wizard of Oz with Vincent D’Onofrio as the Wizard, Great News, the latest comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, Powerless, starring Vanessa Hudgens as an insurance adjuster in a world with superheroes, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in a revival of The Celebrity Apprentice.

Cancelled shows, never to be seen again, include Heroes: Reborn, Mr. Robinson, The Mysteries of Laura, Telenovela, and Undateable.  With only 2 shows returning that I am currently watching, I guess we shall see which, if any, of the new shows stick.

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iTunes Top 200: #41 – 46

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

With 3/4ths of the rankings completed, we kick off the look at the final quarter today with the first 10 songs ranked from #46 through #41.

#46: Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 12/3/2015
Previous ranking: #96

An impressive jump in the ratings for this medley of three 19th century songs: Dixie, a blackface minstrel song that became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy since the Civil War; All My Trials, originally a Bahamian lullaby, but closely related to African American spirituals; and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, the marching song of the Union Army during the Civil War.

#46: Divinyls – I Touch Myself
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 9/28/2015
Previous ranking: #41

The sole US hit for the Australian band which formed in 1980.

#46: Color Me Badd – All 4 Love
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 10/3/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The highest ranking song that did not make the cut three years ago, thanks to its use as at bat music for former White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers.

#46:  The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – End Credits (Broom Dance/Grr Argh)
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 11/9/2014
Previous ranking: #41

A jazzed up version of the ending theme from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

#46: The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 9/17/2015
Previous ranking: #41

This 1964 hit had the biggest jump to number one (from #27) until Billboard began using SoundScan for their charts.

#44: Tegan and Sara – I Hear Noises
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Vacation Recap – Florida Roadtrip Part 4

When we left off last time, day one at the theme parks had gone horribly awry.

Wednesday

After another late night, I was the only one who got up early on Wednesday.  I decided to throw caution to the wind and check out the imposition that was the free breakfast, where I ran into Tom and Meredith, along with their respective families.  After breakfast, it was back to the room and preparations for a day at Universal Studios for exciting Harry Potter action.

disney-to-universalJeff, Val, and I headed out to the car for the under-12 mile drive to Universal.  As you can probably guess, we never made it.  We were less than 3 miles away when we were forced to stop at a 7-11, where we stayed for the next 2 hours.  Eventually, we decided to call an audible and drove across the street to the Whole Foods, where Val stocked up on some homeopathic remedies in the hopes they would calm her down.  From there, it was back to the hotel, where we left Val in the room and Jeff and I went back to the ESPN Club for lunch.

Seeing as we spent a combined $900 for the Universal tickets, Val convinced Jeff to go back without her, so the two of us again ventured out to see all the wonders of Harry Potter and his ilk.

UniversalWe arrived late in the afternoon, around 4:00, and made our way inside.  We started at Islands of Adventure, heading straight back to Hogsmeade, the original piece of Harry Potter land.  We took a quick look around and then jumped on the Hogwarts Express, which travels between the two parks.  After the train pulled in to the other park, we looked around there quickly, spending most of our time waiting for the dragon atop the Gringotts Bank to spit fire.  With that done, it was time to bid farewell to Universal.  That $900 provided nearly 2 hours worth of entertainment.  3 if you include the drive there and back.

When we got back to the hotel, Val was asleep, so, rather than join Tom and Meredith down at the final planned event of the week and enjoying free food and drinks, Jeff and I returned to the hotel bar.  Eventually, as the night wore on, we were joined by others for another night of drinking and what passes for debauchery at Disney World.  The night ended back in the hotel room when a drunken Jeff fought against gravity and lost, falling over between the air mattress and our luggage.

Thursday

Our initial plans for the final day at Disney were to go to the Magic Kingdom before heading out on another road trip up the coast.  As with all of our other plans for the trip, they fell apart and were quickly changed.  I again partook in the free breakfast and nearly got Jeff to join me, but he was unwilling to use his conference badge to gain entrance to the breakfast.  After breakfast, it was decided that Jeff would drive back solo and Val and I would fly home that afternoon.  We booked a surprisingly affordable last-minute flight and then the three of us went back to Hollywood Studios for a shopping excursion.

Following a final meal at the ESPN Club, we loaded up the truck and headed to the airport.  Jeff dropped Val and I off and then headed off, taking our luggage, and, unfortunately, our coats, with him.  Val and I went in, checked in for the flight, and everything was good to go, until we found out that, to get to our gate, there would be a short tram ride.  She took it like a champ, and we settled in at the gate, waiting for the hopefully uneventful flight home.

As luck would have it, our flight was delayed waiting for the plane to arrive.  Once we got on the plane, we were delayed again on the tarmac as the first storms of the week arrived.  This did not go over well with Val, who broke the seatbelt light edict multiple times to run to the bathroom.  Before takeoff, Val endeared herself to the lady sitting on the other side of her by asking for her vomit bag, just in case.  Once we got in the air, there were no incidents, but I could tell that she was uncomfortable the whole time.

When we landed, she darted off the plane and we headed out into the cold, snowy night without our coats.  We hugged goodbye and went our separate ways, finding our rides home and ending this exciting and eventful trip.

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#90 – Neal Cotts

neal-cotts-whitesoxName: Neal Cotts

Rank: 90

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2003-2006

Neal Cotts was acquired by the White Sox, along with Billy Koch and Daylan Holt, from the A’s in exchange for Keith Foulke, Mark Johnson, and Joe Valentine in December of 2002.  He made his major league debut on August 12, 2003, lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a start against the Angels, walking 6 and giving up 2 hits and 2 runs.  He made 3 additional starts, finishing the year with an 8.10 ERA in only 13 1/3 innings pitched.

Under new manager Ozzie Guillen, Cotts moved to the bullpen in 2004.  Appearing in 56 games, he managed to lower his ERA somewhat, to a still-horrid 5.65.  He did manage to pick up his first major league hit, against the Expos on June 18.

Things clicked in 2005, both for Cotts and the White Sox.  He appeared in 69 regular season games and posted a sparkling 1.94 ERA as the White Sox took the AL Central crown.  He faced one batter in the ALDS, getting Trot Nixon to flyout in Game 1 of the sweep against the Red Sox.  He was the only White Sox reliever to appear in the ALCS, getting the final 2 outs in the Game 1 loss to the Angels.  As the White Sox moved on to their first World Series since 1959, Cotts appeared in all 4 games, winning Game 2 and giving up only 1 hit in an inning and a third.

Cotts reverted back to his previous form in 2006, appearing in 70 games and seeing his ERA balloon back up to 5.17, though he did earn his first career save.  Following the season, he was traded across town to the Cubs for fellow relief pitcher David Aardsma.

Cotts’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Full Speed Ahead

It has been nearly two years since I last took a look at the internet speeds being delivered to me by our good friends at Comcast.  At the time, my download speeds had improved by nearly 40 Mbps over the previous year.  Can I expect a similar jump now?

2016speedtest-chrome

Google Chrome

No, I most certainly cannot.  Compared to my last test using Google’s Chrome browser, I’ve gained a measly 4 Mbps of download speed over the past 22 months.  Upload has also increased by a single Mbps.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge

Thing are a little better on the Microsoft side of the house, though this test used the new Edge browser as opposed to Internet Explorer.  The Edge test broke the 100 Mbps barrier, getting a good 10 Mbps more than Chrome and gaining more than 15 Mbps from the last IE test.  Upload capabilities were pretty much the same.

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Flying Down To The CW

Supergirl-CBSSupergirl, the highest rated freshman show on CBS, has been renewed for a second season, but will move down the dial to corporate sibling the CW.  In addition, it was announced that production of the show would move to Vancouver in a bid to lower costs.  The move gives the CW 4 hours of DC-related programming a week.