Randomly Random

Hi there, my internet minions. Been a week, let's get right to it.

• Jim Hendry, we hardly knew ye. The embattled Cubs GM was finally relieved of his duties last Friday. Now, here's the weird part. He was relieved of his duty this past Friday, August 19th, but he was actually fired on July 22. That's right, they fired him, then asked him to stay on with the team to get them past the deadline and then sign their new draft picks, all while staying completely quiet about having been fired. Hash-tag awkward, folks. But you know what? Jim Hendry's a classy guy, and he stayed until the day the announcement was finally made. It's actually a shame things didn't work out for him here. He started with a bang, and helped compile a masterful team in 2003 that SHOULD have won it all. After that, it was just bad contract after bad contract, 2 teams that should've won something that didn't, and a future that doesn't look too bright thanks to the massive contracts. But one signing Jim Hendry made will always stick in my mind...
  Ted Lilly was a .500 pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. He'd once famously gotten into a fist-fight with his manager for having been taken out of a game. Jim Hendry was in a hospital bed recovering from a fairly major heart procedure, and he wasn't supposed to be working. He wasn't going to die, but he wasn't in great shape. However, from his hospital bed, he consummated a deal with Ted Lilly to bring him to the Cubs. Now, in the end, Lilly had a pretty nice career while he was here for a couple of years; however, what will stick with me is the fact that Jim Hendry thought that Ted Lilly was worth dying for. Think about that for a second. That's a dedicated man.
• The US Open Tennis Championships start a week from today. I'll tell you what, I'll leave that there, as something tells me there's going to be at least one dedicated entry to the Open. Suffice it to say I'm pretty stoked.
• Awwwww... I just saw that Nick Ashford of Ashford and Simpson passed away today. 69. Sad.
• Why is a brand new album with both Kanye West and Jay-Z one of the most boring albums I've heard all year? This is shocking to me. Like or dislike either of these artists, their albums are usually pretty exciting and energetic. Watch The Throne is anything but. Kind of disappointing.
• By the by, anyone can try, but it'll never fly. Nobody is going to release a better album this year than Adele's 21. Nobody. And with the Grammy nomination period coming to an end in about 5 weeks, I'd say she's all but got Album of the Year locked up. Book it. Trust me, I'm very good at handicapping the Grammys.
• Hopefully, by the time you read my next blog, the situation in Libya will have calmed down, and that Gadhafi will be taken from power. I don't want him to be strung up and killed, persay. I believe he needs to be tried for his crimes. The Libyan citizens need a chance to live their lives in peace, and choose the direction in which their country heads going forward. Even if WE don't agree with it, if it's their choice, it's better than what they have.
• I'd like to end with my commentary on the 2011 Chicago Bears after the first half of tonight's game: .......................................

Thanks for reading!!!