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Diamondbacks All Time Leaders – Through 2025

dbacksTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks began life in 1998, joining the league along with the Devil Rays. I’ve seen 152 players donning the Diamondbacks uniform in the 21 games I’ve seen them play live, starting in their inaugural season and most recently this past summer, including the final game of their 2007 sweep of the Cubs in the NLDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 3
Steve Finley 3
Stephen Drew 3

Hits

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 10
Stephen Drew 7
Alex Cintron 7
Conor Jackson 7

Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 11
Steve Finley 6
Troy Glaus 5

RBI

Name Total
Orlando Hudson 7
Steve Finley 6
Eric Byrnes 6

Doubles

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 4
Chad Tracy 3
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Fitbit XI – Week 51

As the 2026 work year got into full swing, things were pretty slow, but a trip to the old alma mater helped extend my streak of 30,000 step weeks to seven.  Despite a trip to the local hardware store, the week got off to a slow start on Sunday, needing 7 more steps to reach 3600.  Monday saw a nice improvement, falling 40 steps shy of 4200.  An additional 25 steps on Tuesday would have given me just 3300.  Another jump on Wednesday pushed me back up to 4400 steps.  Thursday came in at 3900 steps.  Friday managed to go back above 4100 steps.  A trip to West Lafayette to see Purdue battle Penn State at Mackey on Saturday ended the week on a high note, finishing with 6700 steps.

Total steps: 30,206

Daily average: 4315.1

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2025: The Year In Movies Part 2

Over 100 different actors starred in the 55 movies I saw last year (starring in being the first two named stars, a tradition dating back to the old Chicago Tribune TV guide which populated the early days of my database), and seven of them were in more than one film. Those seven thespians are:

Films Per Actor Per Year

Actor Name Films
Emma Stone 3
Julia Garner 2
Anne Hathaway 2
Jesse Plemons 2
Florence Pugh 2
Margaret Qualley 2
Aaron Taylor-Johnson 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2025, following up on last week’s post.

Death of a Unicorn (2025)
Billionaires try to exploit the magical properties of unicorns, but the unicorns have other ideas.

Bugonia (2025)
A conspiracy theorist kidnaps a CEO, convinced that she is an alien.

American Sweatshop (2025)
A content approver for a website that definitely isn’t YouTube tries to identify a man in an abhorrent video.

The Girl Who Got Away (2021)
A serial killer escapes and goes after her one victim who got away.

Another Simple Favor (2025)
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return for a sequel to their 2018 hit.

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Book 3 (of 52) – Mr. Monk Goes To Germany

Lee Goldberg – Mr. Monk Goes to Germany

When Dr. Kroger heads to a conference in Germany, Monk suddenly finds himself unable to function.  He decides the only way forward is to head to Germany himself so he can continue his sessions.  While there, he comes across a man with six fingers, who he immediately suspects of having murdered his wife. But when a real-life murder takes place, Monk and Natalie work with the local police to find the killer in exchange for their help in finding the six-fingered man.

Mr. Monk Goes to Germany is the sixth of 18 novels based on the USA Network dramedy that ran from 2002 to 2009 from series writer Lee Goldberg. This outing once again over exaggerates Monk’s reactions everyday occurrences way beyond what would be seen in the show and adds in a pair of local German detectives who are thinly veined copies of Stottlemeyer and Disher.  I’ve got twelve more of these books waiting for me and, unfortunately, they seem to be trending in the wrong direction.

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Book 2 (of 52) – The Perfect Divorce

The Perfect Divorce – Jeneva Rose

After learning that her husband was having an affair, attorney Sarah Morgan decides it is time to end their marriage.  He, however, has other plans and, considering what he knows about the end of Sarah’s first marriage, the two are in for a fight.  Things get messy when the murder case against Sarah’s first husband, who has already been executed, is re-opened after new evidence shows a potential cover-up by the sheriff’s department and two women connected to her current husband go missing.  Which fighting spouse will keep the upper hand in their battle for custody of their daughter?

The Perfect Divorce, my second foray into Jeneva Rose’s work, came to my attention after being nominated for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Mystery & Thriller.  It is the second entry in her Perfect series featuring the Sarah Morgan and, I fear, completely spoils the first one.  Aside from that unfortunate outcome, this was a quick and entertaining read, with a completely different vibe from my previous exposure to Rose and her work.  I look forward to revisiting her back catalog in the future.

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Landing A Big Fish

With the city of Chicago focused on the Bears playoff game against the Packers on Saturday night, the Cubs tried to steal the spotlight, signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract.  It’s the third-largest overall contract in Cubs history, behind only Jason Heyward’s $184 million deal signed prior to the 2016 season and Dansby Swanson’s $177 million deal signed prior to 2023, but the average annual value, including deferrals, is higher than both of those contracts.  The deal also reportedly includes a no trade clause.

This is the second straight offseason that the Cubs have targeted Bregman, who will turn 32 shortly after Opening Day.  He signed with the Red Sox last year, but opted out of his contract and re-entered free agency after slashing .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs in just 114 games. Adding Bregman to the lineup pushes second-year player Matt Shaw into a utility role, which should leave him free to attend any future MAGA rallies should, say, Alex Jones choke on a Cheddarwurst.

This move follows the acquisition of starting pitcher Edward Cabrera earlier last week, signaling that the Cubs are preparing to go all-in for 2026 after falling in the NLDS last fall and with a number of key players hitting free agency following this season.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #181-188

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

We continue today with our next batch of ten artists, covering the genres of pop, punk, rock, and hip-hop.  We have three performers making their debut on the list this week.

#188: Bowling For Soup
iTunes stats: 61 plays
Previous ranking: NR

Formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994, the band makes their debut appearance on this chart thanks for two versions, one from the studio and one live on the Adam Carolla Show, of the Phineas and Ferb theme song.

#188: Chicago
iTunes stats: 61 plays
Previous ranking: #188

The ten-time Grammy nominees, who named themselves Chicago Transit Authority in 1968 and shortened to its current version the following year, show up on the list on the strength of three tracks, two from the early 1970s and one from the mid-80s.

#188: Coolio
iTunes stats: 61 plays
Previous ranking: #178

The 1996 Grammy winner for Best Rap Solo Performance, who passed away in 2022, parlayed his two hits into just twelve new listens over the past five years.

#184: Bad Religion
iTunes stats: 62 plays
Previous ranking: #182

The punk rock band from LA, who I saw open for Pearl Jam at Soldier Field back in 1995, add fourteen new plays to the two songs in my collection.

#184: Bloodhound Gang
iTunes stats: 62 plays
Previous ranking: #164

The band known for humorous and off-beat, satirical lyrics, formed in Pennsylvania in 1992, picked up only nine new listens, which resulted in a 20-spot fall in the charts.

#184: Sarah McLachlan
Continue reading →

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A’s All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With a little more than a month until spring training camps open, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Oakland Sacramento A’s.

The A’s began life in Philadelphia in 1901, as one of the eight charter franchises of the American League, before moving to Kansas City in 1955, Oakland in 1968, and to Sacramento last year while waiting for a new stadium to be built in Las Vegas.  I’ve seen 235 players don the A’s uniforms in the 35 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, including two at their former home stadium in Oakland.

Home Runs

Name Total
Matt Olson 4
Jason Giambi 3
Shea Langeliers 3

Hits

Name Total
Adam Rosales 8
Rajai Davis 8
Matt Olson 8

Runs

Name Total
Coco Crisp 5
Adam Rosales 5
Matt Olson 5

RBI

Name Total
Matt Olson 7
Ramon Hernandez 5
Shea Langeliers 5

Doubles

Name Total
Coco Crisp 3
Jed Lowrie 3
JJ Bleday 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Rockies All Time Leaders – Through 2025

rockiesTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With a little more than a month until regular season baseball, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies joined the National League as an expansion team, along with the then-Florida Marlins, in 1993.  I’ve seen 154 players don the Rockies uniforms in the 20 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, first in 2002 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past Memorial Day when I took the field to help hold the giant flag for the national anthem.

Home Runs

Name Total
Preston Wilson 2
Charlie Blackmon 2
16 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Matt Holliday 9
Brad Hawpe 8
Willy Taveras 8

Runs

Name Total
Brad Hawpe 4
Garrett Atkins 4
Todd Helton 4
Charlie Blackmon 4
Brendan Rodgers 4

RBI

Name Total
Troy Tulowitzki 4
Preston Wilson 3
Jamey Carroll 3
Jay Payton 3
Luis Gonzalez 3
D.J. LeMahieu 3
Charlie Blackmon 3

Doubles

Name Total
Charlie Blackmon 3
Willy Taveras 2
Todd Helton 2
Jamey Carroll 2
Matt Holliday 2

Triples Continue reading →

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2025: The Year In Movies

The return of my annual long December vacation helped push up a weak first eleven months of the year, giving me my lowest total since last year.  I managed to watch 55 movies last year, my fifth consecutive year under 100, despite being home all day and not needing to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.  Reading 66 books and watching game shows all day probably didn’t help either.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Queenpins (2021)
A pair of housewives create a $40 million coupon scam.

Blackwater Lane (2024)
A woman believes she will be the next victim of a serial killer.

MaXXXine (2024)
Mia Goth returns in this prequel to X.

Mothers’ Instinct (2024)
The friendship between two women is tested when one loses her son.

Blitz (2024)
A group of Londoners tries to survive during the German bombing during World War II.

Poor Things (2023)
Emma Stone plays a woman who has the brain of a baby transplanted into her head.

The Idea of You (2024)
A 40-year-old single mom begins an unexpected romance with the lead singer of the hottest boy band on the planet.

Back in Action (2025)
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz star as retired CIA agents forced to come out of retirement to save their family.

Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Emma Stone reteams with writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Y2K (2024)
Machines go nuts as the clock strikes midnight and the world enters the year 2000.

Continue reading →