The Road (a multi-sport blog, triathlete training)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Road, by Patrick Mahoney

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.theroadmultisport.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: 41 year old husband, father, friend to some, in the midst of unfortunate misunderstandings with others. In 2007 I started a journey to regain my fitness. In 2009 I started participating in triathlons. I have not looked back, not even once. The Road is my daily story and is just as much a part of my training and preparedness as a long bike ride or an interval workout.

MY REVIEW: I'm a bicyclist myself...swimming and jogging aren't my thing. But if you want to get in shape, and stay in shape, dedicating yourself to the triathlon seems to be the way to go.

I'm not going to take it up - I'll stick to my bike, thanks - but the author's posts can certainly be inspirational to those who are looking to get in shape. If a 41-year-old can take up swimmng, running and biking, anyone can. (Indeed, I have read of women and men in their 80s who participate in triathlons.)

The author talks about training, about races, about life in general. Very ineresting. Check it out.

Sample post:

Here I go again, thinking too much.
I've been sent two emails since Chris "Macca" McCormack won the Ironman World Championships on Saturday from a PR firm representing Wheaties breakfast cereal. Saturday night, they sent me a press release saying that Macca will be the first Ironman World Champion to be featured on a Wheaties box. This morning, they sent it to me again suggesting that I should mention it on my blog. So I am. Here is a link to the full press release.

Macca is going to be part of a pretty cool club. I found this list of athletes that have been featured on the Wheaties box. Lance Armstrong has been on the there. So has Red Auerbach. Chris Everett, Jim Thorpe, Darrell Waltrip and Kristi Yamaguchi have been on there too. I wonder if there is collector's market for the boxes?

I'm excited for Macca. He's now part of a long standing tradition, and I'm sure he takes home a bit of cash for the effort. After all, I'm certainly for triathletes moving up the professional athlete pay-scale.

I have to hand it to General Mills as well. Eric Heiden and Shawn White are two more that have been on the box. In fact, I was surprised at the number of non baseball/football/basketball athletes that have been featured over the years. This certainly suggests that progressive thinking has always been the norm in the Wheaties marketing department.

Where I'm not feeling the love is for the World Triathlon Corporation. In May, they announced a licensing deal with Powerbar for the creation of the Ironman Perform sports drink. Powerbar is owned by Nestle, and is thus part of the global food machine. As you know, I am not a big fan of any "global machine". But more importantly, I don't know too many people who actually use Powerbar products. Triathletes are a smart and healthy bunch. We've all done our research. And my guess is that your research has led you to the same conclusions that mine has - that there are better products available made by smaller companies.

Ditto on Wheaties. Does anyone who is reading this actually eat Wheaties? If you do, cool. I actually like them quite a bit. But I've done my research and made what I think are smarter choices.

Maybe I'm way off. But if I'm right and triathletes are generally looking to smaller companies that produce a higher quality product, then this could be the start of a crack of disconnection between triathletes and the holy grail of triathlon - Ironman.

The WTC is a for profit company. I've got no problem with that. But I would hate to see the WTC fall into the same trap that many other industries have by making short term financial gains at the expense of alienating their customers. It happened in the recording industry. MP3's exploded on the scene in a huge and unstoppable way, but what did the record labels do? They redoubled their efforts to shove compact discs down the consumer's throat. Forget the legal arguments about file sharing, the bigger issue was that the gross margins on the sale of a plastic disc is much better than the gross margin on a computer file. The labels wanted their margins, but the consumers wanted MP3's. Guess what? The consumers won, and the recording industry (as we know it) is dead.

Full disclosure, I've never looked at the business model of a for profit triathlon production and marketing company. But if Ironman events work more or less like events that I am familiar with (concerts, movie theaters), then the races work something like this - Participant race fees cover the cost of event production and profit is made from residual income streams like merchandising and commercial tie-ins. But the question is, do you take sponsorship money from the company who will write the biggest check regardless of what your customers actually feel about that company's products or do you identify the right emerging companies (just like your customers are doing) and develop a long term relationship with them?

I get the title sponsorships. Without Ford, Rohto or Foster Grant there would be no Ironman. But I think it would serve the WTC well to be more discerning when it comes to sport specific product endorsements. Especially nutrition - because nutrition is on every triathlete's top 5 list of priorities, is potentially a very polarizing subject and gets a lot of day-in day-out attention.

The WTC is also going to catch a lot of heat for the 5150 Olympic distance race series, and this will be a slippery slope for them. Though the 5150 website is not "co-branded" with an Ironman logo, the word "Ironman" is used a bunch of times in the press release. Is the WTC is throwing "Ironman" around to attract sponsors (e.g. cash) or athletes? Well, I doubt you need to say "Ironman" to attract athletes. I don't think anyone doubts the quality of a WTC produced event and these races will fill up.

The truth is that the WTC and "Ironman" are inseparable at this point. Long course triathletes who have completed an Ironman event obviously feel a huge connection to the Ironman brand. The word "Ironman" and the M-Dot logo are badges of honor to them, and I don't blame them for feeling that way. So I'm not at all surprised to see some resistance to the Olympic races from Ironman long course finishers. There is a huge difference between 51.5 kilometers and 140.6 miles. And it's only going to take one Ironman Olympic distance finisher to think they qualify for the M-Dot tattoo and diminish the brand. Am I being a little snobby? Perhaps I am by proxy, because I've never done a 140.6. But snobby or not, it's true.

How do I wrap this post up? I guess by saying my criticism is coming from a good place because I am still a fan of Ironman. I want to see the sport continue to thrive and prosper. And Ironman is obviously a huge part of the success equation. But the idealist in me would like to see things stay as innocent as possible for as long as possible. Peace, love and leave it all out on the road....

RECENT POSTS:
--The Zen of Jellybeans & Secret Files
--Time Capsule
--OktoberFast Wrap Up
--I Did A Weird Thing Too.
--Randomland
--Ironman - My Take
--Meet My Soigneur
--Wow, A Win?!?
--You know what hurts?

_______________
Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

How To Improve Your Golf Swing (golfing)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: How to swing a golf club, by Demitris Sideris

WEB ADDRESS: Can't find it!

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Simple methods to improve your golf swing and your overall golf game.

MY REVIEW: There is a blog on the web called "How to improve your golf swing" but it hasn't been updated for over a year. New articles are received via Kindle subscribers to something with that name, but the entries seem to come as a feed from other sources. Some entries come from www.articlebase.com, others come from other sources. Therefore I can't give a web address for it.

Nevertheless the articles might be of interest to golf fans, so check it out with your free subscription option if you so desire.

RECENT POSTS:
--Watch GOlf the BMW Championship 2010 Stream Online
--The Right Way to Develop Your Golf Training Routine
--Ideas for Improve Your Golf Game
--You can never find this big discount! Titleist AP2 710 Irons
--KLM Open Live Streaming Broadcast Online TV telescast coverage
--The Proper golf grip

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

"It's great to be young and a Yankee." (Baseball)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: "It's great to be young and a Yankee.", by Crazy Yankee Chick

WEB ADDRESS: http://crazyyankeechick.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Daily recaps, highlights, analysis, and a general bullpen of observational commentary...plus everything a Crazy Yankee Chick does in between watching the Yankees, Giants, and Rangers.

MY REVIEW: This is a heckuva fun blog. (If you're a Yankees fan. I'm not. Booo hiss!) The author covers each game, in detail, in her own inimitable style. As you'll see in the sample post below, she knows her baseball. I don't really care for some of the language she uses, but it's not that egregious, and younger people of course won't mind it.

Highly recommended.

sample post:

Game 127/ Tuesday, August 24: NYY @ J's (You wanna play long ball, Toronto? Well, DO YA?) Two thousand nineteen.

That's how many feet of bombs came off the Yankee bats during the course of this game. The longest one, improbably, came from Jeter. This wasn't like a GGBG-esque basehitter homerun. This was like a Giambi in the pouring rain moonshot. Dammmmn, #2. And dammmmn, Yanks. But let's be honest, you're the Yankees. This is what you do, right?

The J's just temporarily forget that they're the not the Original. Just a $10 generic version that comes out years after the original brand name, legitimate prescription.

So last 2 nights ago, Bautista acted like a little bitch and took his sweet ass time rounding the bases. Because "lookatmelookatme I'm the homerun champ so far!" You guys are like 108 games out of the division.

But, hey, if that's how you want to do it, the Yanks are game. In fact, they're so game that they'll show you exactly who the real kings of [bat] pop are. As my often quotes from his favorite movie, "You may be a one-eyed jack around here, but I've seen the other side of your face."

I'm not entirely sure what this means, but it sounds menacing, which is basically all I'm looking for here.

By the 3rd inning, the Yanks were up 6-0, thanks to 3 dings in the 3rd inning alone. Monster blast from Tex, a 2-run shot from Timms, and a solo from Jorge.

2 innings later, Grandy and Jeter both went yard, and the J's were reeling. (No fights though!) After 6 innings, the Yanks were sitting on an 11-1 game. The J's had a measly 1 run from an RBI single off the bat of Vernon "My Name is Vernon if that gives you any idea of how f'n old I am" Wells.

Moseley gets the win, and this guy is starting to remind me of Brain in Inspector Gadget or something. Like the guy behind the scenes that you don't really pay much mind to. I've suggested that this guy was lifted from some stock imagery website.

Or, rather, his line scores have been. 2 runs, 5 hits, 4BBs, 4Ks, 6 innings. Your basic fare from this guy. And basic is being liberal. It's more like your lock-it-up numbers from this guy.

Gaudin came in for relief, and managed to avoid intentionally/unintentionally beaning anyone, much to the dismay I'm sure of the warning-trigger-happy umps. Kerry Wood closed out the game with a scoreless 9th. Well, Mr. Wood, I'll bite.

(Oh Good God, did I actually just write that?? Moving on...)

Ok, KERRY, I'll SAY IT. You're not working out too badly. At all. I had my doubts. Lots of em. I thought you'd be the new Esteban Loiza or something.

But I guess it's true what they say about senior citizens. And by "they" I mean Lloyd Christmas. "Senior citizens, though slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can serve a purpose!"

The pitcher for the J's is a guy I had big predictions for last year. He's also a guy who joins Jonathan Albaladejo and Buehrle as players whose names I hate typing with an unyielding passion.

Welcome to the club, Mark Rzepczynski. In fact, I'm making you President. Congrats.

He got chased in the 4th, big surprise there. 6 runs on 8 hits isn't gonna impress anyway and pretty much guarantees you the L. Which he got.

The Yanks had 17 hits on the day, with Tex and Posada both going 4 for 5, Grandy and Timms both going 3 for 4.

Grandy made an OUTSTANDING play at the plate. It was one of those plays that made me think for a second, "Wait, are we the home or away team?" on account of how raucous the cheering was afterwards. Amazing work. It's funny how these things seem to happen RIGHT when The Other Man's name starts lolling around sports journalists' tongues.

As soon as Johnny Damon even remotely starts tiptoeing towards the limelight, it's like Grandy goes, "YES, YES FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, I WAS THE RIGHT MOVE."

(On a side note, that's f'n gangsta, Damon. Well done. It's like being on the Yanks reminded you how decent a guy you are. I'm sorry you had to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous idiocy and classlessness on the Sox for so long. If you're happy, I'm happy.)

The bad news was a foul ball that Swish inflicted upon himself, and put GGBG in mid AB. Who struck out looking.

The other bad news is that the LIFE WITHOUT AROD propoganda has officially set in.

13-1 without him. 3 runs per game more. About 1 more HR per game. And more than 30 points more in the team BA.

Yeah, only logical conclusion is that Arod sucks, yeah?

Or you could subscribe to the much more reasonable explanation which is that the rest of the team is working to fill in the power gap that Arod left.

But I mean, teamwork, schmeamwork. Makes much more sense to just deduce that future Hall-of-Famer, legend-in-our-time Arod is just secretly bad, statistical contradictions be damned.

Sigh. Anyways...

Weird stat of the night: The Yankees have 44 four-run innings this season, the most in the majors. Yay? Can we take that to the bank? Eh, sure, why not?

Annoying fact of the night: Javy's moving to the bullpen for the time being, with newbie Nova set to start in his place Sunday at Chicago. This irks me for some reason. I used to get so f'n annoying at Javy in his early starts, because he let everything get under his skin.

But he's shed that habit, and now he's playing strong and composed and it annoys me that the flashy newcomer is pushing Javy to the pen. I don't know. I feel like Javy is getting walked all over. Yeah, it's a business. Yeah, maybe it's a good move. And yeah, he probably doesn't care as much as I do. But I'm just saying. It rubs me the wrong way.

The Yanks stay tied with TB, since the Angels are an unmitigated nightmare in the field. It was like watching a softball team play at 8am on a Sunday morning. ("Stop talking so loud! Why is everything so bright! WHERE ARE THE GODDAMN GATORADES AND SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS?")

And don't listen to anyone. The Yanks are doing great. It's not as "magical" as last year, but sometimes you gotta take the inside straight. It'll pay just as big dividends as getting the cards on the flop, but now we gotta wait for that elusive card on the river.

I'll call.

RECENT POSTS:
--Monday, September 7: TB @ NYY (Juggernaut Double Digest Edition)
--Game 126/ Monday, August 23: NYY @ J's (Nova Like a Caine)
--Game 125/ Sunday, August 22: SEA @ NYY (Cano is good. And he knows it.)
--Game 124/ Satruday, August 21: SEA @ NYY (Beach Day)
--Game 123/ Friday, August 20: SEA @ NYY (The King and I)

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

National Football Post ( American football)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: National Football Post - Football News and Opinion, by various

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: The National Football Post is founded on the vision of creating the definitive forum where news, information and insight come together through voices of experienced NFL executives, agents, and current and former NFL players. These professional football insiders will bring a unique and previously unavailable glimpse into the inner workings of NFL front offices, locker rooms and playing fields. Unlike any other outlet for news about America’s most popular sport, The National Football Post provides organic news, opinion, analysis and knowledge that are not presently found in the sports information service industry. Our insiders will use their respective experiences, access and knowledge to allow all those who consume professional football to have the ultimate portal to see the inner workings of their favorite pastime.

MY REVIEW: I recommend this blog, with reservations, because as far as I can tell, Kindle users receive only a couple posts a day, whereas at the actual website, there are 13 columns that are updated on a regular basis. I have yet to figure out which particular columns get fed to the Kindle.

News you might receive on your Kindle are: The Business of Football, The Player's Page, The Agent's Journal, the Scouting Department, The Biggs Report, The Wilson Wire, the Zone Dog Blog, Against the Grain, the Director's Report, the Eye in the Sky, Crosstalk, Inside the Playbook and Guest Stars.

If you want to make sure you're able to read them all, I'd visit the website instead.

RECENT POSTS:
--THe fantasy stock watch report
--2010 NFP scounting series: Clemson
--Inside the Revis talks, Part II
--Preseason weekend tipsheet
--2010 NFP scounting series, Mississippi.

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Mountain Biking by 198

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Mountain Biking By 198, Robb Sutton

WEB ADDRESS: http://mountain.bike198.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: In depth and informative riding tips; cycling editorials and riding tips; biking product reviews on mountain biking components, hardware, parts and related biking technology. We work directly with manufacturers to deliver quality material and content for beginning and amateur mountain bikers through advanced and extreme mountain bike riders.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent blog for the tech-head mountainbiker, the one who is always working on ways to improve the performance and speed of their bike. It is all about reviews - no other types of articles.

RECENT POSTS:
--Review: Shimano SLX Mountain Bike Component Group
--Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon 29er Mountain Bike Revealed
--Poll Results: Who’s Mountain Bike Suspension Are You Running?
--Discount Bike Parts: Where To Find and What To Trust
--Mountain Bike Maps, Routes and Courses – Plan Your Next Trip

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Bicycle Touring Pro (Bicycling, Travel)

REVIEWED BY: Ms Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Bicycle Touring Pro, by Darren Alff

WEB ADDRESS: http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: BicycleTouringPro.com is a website aimed at those interested in bicycle touring and long distance travel.

Here you will find:

- A repository of useful articles for bicycle travelers. The articles are aimed to help you with all aspects of planning, preparing for and executing a short or long distance bicycle tour.

- A collection of audio recordings about long distance travel. You can listen to the recordings at any time through your computer speakers.

- Fresh content is added regularly. New content includes audio interviews with bicycle tourists and long distance travelers, how-to instructional articles and videos, as well as news and information from the world of bicycle travel.

MY REVIEW: Readers really get the trifecta with this blog - bicycling tips, bicycling gear and travel info.

The articles are well written, informative, and illustrated with photos. You get no-holds-barred reviews of new cycling gear, as well as reviews of travel destinations.

I enjoyed this blog a lot, every serious bicyclist will.

RECENT POSTS:
Kindle Readers – Get Free Lodging For Your Travels
You can now download The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging for the Amazon Kindle. Click...

The Bicycle Touring Pro’s 4×9 List
I saw this on Alastair Humphrey’s website. He saw it on Ben Saunders’....

Hybrid Backpack – The All Purpose Bicycle Carrier
The Hybrid Backpack is a product designed to help you carry odd-sized items on your...

The Village Of Arrow Rock: A National Historic Landmark
The tiny village of Arrow Rock is located 13 miles north of I-70 on Hwy 41 in Saline...


_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

World Cup Buzz (soccer)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: World Cup Buzz

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: World Cup news and analysis for the biggest sports competition in the world.

MY REVIEW: I had meant to review this blog three weeks ago, when it was first brought to my attention that the World Cup was coming up. Sorry about that. I assume that the blog will continue after this particular World Cup is over, so check it out and if you lke it, stay subscribed.

The entries seem to be informative and well-written. I am not in any way, shape of form a fan of soccer - I'd much rather watch cricket! Or even golf! But soccer fans will enjoy this blog. (Based on the ratings on their subscription page, they do.)

So join in the fun.

RECENT POSTS:
--World Cup Results: Day 14
--World Cup 2010 Day 14: World Cup Buzz Podcast
--How Do You Say Goodbye In Italian?
--Dennis Miller Comments on US World Cup Victory On Fox News
--Win World Cup Prizes at Wowies World Cup Viewing Parties in South Florida

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

ESPN - The Fantasy Report

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: ESPN - The Fantasy Blog, by

WEB ADDRESS: http://espn.go.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Raise your fantasy game status by staying in touch with the top experts in the industry. The Fantasy Report blog includes posts from the Talented Mr. Roto, Matt Berry and ESPN fan favorites Eric Karabell and Nate Ravitz.

MY REVIEW:
If you're interested in fantasy baseball, you need to keep up with the athletes. This is definitely a blog you want to subscribe to.

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

AmmoLand (Sport, Hobby)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: AmmoLand

WEB ADDRESS: Ammoland.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: AmmoLand has a FREE Shooting Sports News Service that is seen by 1000's of Ammunition, Shooting and Pro Firearms enthusiast

MY REVIEW: Gun enthusiasts will enjoy this blog. They talk about ammunition, of course, but also about all sorts of topics of interest to gun owners. It's a bit impersonal...news, but no personal stories or anything of that nature.

RECENT POSTS:
--Remington Outdoor Foundation & IHEA Team Up On New Firearm Training Set
--GRNC Gala for Gun Rights Draws Surprise Guest
--New Hampshire Governor Signs Knife Law
--Introducing The Ultimate Guide to Tactical Pants
--Desert Bighorns May Be Removed From State Endangered Species List
--USSA and Others Seek Great Lakes Wolf Delisting
--Seasonal Strike Team Concludes Another Successful Burn Season
--Brownells Feature Products – Magazine Month
--California Teen Aims to Succeed, Earns NWTF Scholarship
--National Archery in the Schools Program 2010 U.S. National Tournament

___________________
Ms Cairo writes two blogs of her own:
DAily Space
Winged Victory: Women in Aviation

Retro Review: Podium Cafe (bicycling)

Reviewed by: Ms Cairo

Amazon subscription link: Podium Cafe.

Web page: www.podiumcafe.com/

Blog description: Podium Café provides news and updates of the latest cycling stories. This blog is for cyclists and cycling enthusiasts, and provides valuable advice in addition to the latest event recaps.

They are still road racing right now in Europe! In winter. Who knew? If you’re a bicycling enthusiast – from road racing to cyclocross (and I was delighted to see the author of the blog was featuring both men and women – he has a profile of cyclocross rider Amy Dombrowksi who is touted to be of champion caliber, for one thing) you will enjoy this blog.

(Since this review was written, it is now of course May and the racing season is in full swing. If you're a cycling enthusiast, check it out.

Recent posts:
--Giro Time! A GC Primer
--Preview: I Muri Fermani – LIVE VIDEO
--Tour de Romandie Stage 5 LIVE
--2010 Podium Cafe World Team Rankings At The One-Third Poll
--Tour de Romandie Stage 4 LIVE
--Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt ..... LIVE

(Lots of links to live coverage - via computer - of races)

___________________
Ms. Cairo writes three blogs of her own:
Topical Murder and Dated Death
Winged Victory: Women in Aviation
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters

Fenway West (Baseball)

REVIEWED BY: Ms Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Fenway West, by Matt O'Donnell

WEB ADDRESS: http://fenwaywest.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A Boston Red Sox blog written by authors across the United States. The blog is updated multiple times each day with team news and analysis.

MY REVIEW: Multiple posts a day, but not much substance. One post is always the day's lineup...do we really need to know that? [Just tell me when Ellsbury is back on the field!] Although I suppose people will want to know who the pitcher is.

There's also not a lot of game analysis. Here's what was said about last night's game:

Hits were hard to come by against Orioles starter Brian Matusz and the Red Sox were getting shut out until Varitek hit his fourth homer of the season in the fifth. Lackey gave up ten hits but kept the O's from any big innings, he went seven innings with three earned runs. Scutaro and Youk both had three-run homers in the seventh to give the Sox a big lead which would almost disappear when the bullpen let Baltimore back in it. Ramon Ramirez gave up a homer and Papelbon gave up a run on three hits before closing the door and holding on for the save.

Not a lot of info there!

That might not be such a big deal,except this blog is still priced at $1.99 a month. That's a bit too high for the amount of info provided. Nevertheless, check it out for yourself.

RECENT POSTS:
--Red Sox Hold On to Beat the O's
--Jonathan Van Every is Back with the Red Sox
--Red Sox Lineup 4/24 vs Baltimore
--Papi and Lester Get the Monkey off of Their Backs
--Red Sox Lineup 4/23 vs Baltimore
--Dunkin' Donuts and Dustin Pedroia Wish Tito a Happy Bday!

___________________
Ms. Cairo writes two blogs of her own:
Winged Victory: Women in Aviation
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters

Baseball Prospectus (baseball)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Baseball Prospectus

WEB ADDRESS: http://BaseballProspectus.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: The official blog of Baseball Prospectus.com

MY REVIEW: This is one of those blogs where it is actually cheaper to subscribe via Kindle than to read it on the web. That's because if you try to read this blog on the web, it costs you $5 a month. It only costs 99 cents a month to do it on the Kindle.

If you're a baseball generalist - loving all teams equally - you'll enjoy this blog. And you'll save money, too. ; )

RECENT ARTICLES:
--You Can Blog It Up: Dead Player of the Day and Other Notes #11
--Fantasy Beat: Hot Spots: First Base, Third Base, and Designated Hitter
--Transaction Action: Going to Dozens
--One-Hoppers: Mets/Nats Game Story
--One-Hoppers: Strasburg wins pro debut

___________________
Barbara Peterson writes two blogs of her own:
Winged Aviation: Women in Aviation
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters

Alert: Don't bother with MVN blogs for MLB, NFL, Golf or anything!

There are quite a few blogs still available on the Kindle that are hosted at MVN (Most Valuable Network), a website that has been defunct since last year.

So if you're looking for baseball blogs on the Kindle, and come across any that say they are published by MVN or Most Valuable Network, no need to bother.

Below is a running list of the blogs that no longer exist, yet are still available on Kindle

NFL
NFL: New York Giants, Giants 101
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers, The Steel Tradition
NFL: Seattle Seahawks, The Power of 12
NFL: Draft, NFL Draft University
NFL: New York Jets, The Cockpit
NFL: San Diego Chargers, Chargers Confidential
NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atop the Crows Nest
NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaguars Journal
NFL: New England Patriots, The Patriot Act
NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Eagles Eye
NFL: Minnesota Vikings, Vikings War Cry
NFL: Indianapolis Colts, Colts Couch Crew
NFL: Houston Texans, Texas-Sized Football
NFL: Tennessee Titans, Total Titans
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs, Home of the Chiefs
NFL: Cleveland Browns, Browns Bites
NFL: New England Patriots, The Patriot Act
NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Eagles Eye
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals, The Bengal Blitz
NFL: Denver Broncos, Thin Air
NFL: San Francisco 49ers, Mining the Gold Rush
NFL: St Louis Rams, RAMblings
NFL: Baltimore Ravens, Ravens Roost
NFL: Buffalo Bills, Circling the Wagons
NFL: General Football, The Blitz
NFL: Washington Redskins, Hog Heaven
NFL: Chicago Bears, From the Midway
NFL: Green Bay Packers, The Frozen Tundra
NFL: Arizona Cardinals, Cardinals Report
NFL: Atlanta Falcons, Flying High
NFL: Dallas Cowboys, The Cowboy Roundup
NFL: Detroit Lions, Lions Den
NFL: New Orleans Saints, Cajun Up with the Saints

MLB
Seattle Mariners, Caffeinated Confines
MLB: Toronto Blue Jays, Jays Nest
MLB: San Francisco Giants, Giants Cove
MLB: Florida Marlins, Marlins Today
MLB: Tampa Bay Devil Rays, RaysTalk
MLB: Washington Nationals, Oleanders and Morning Glories
MLB: Minnesota Twins, Twins Killings
MLB: Kansas City Royals, Royals Authority
MLB: Milwaukee Brewers, Brewers Bar
MLB: Los Angeles Angels, Big Big A Baseball
MLB: Oakland Athletics, Athletic Supporters
MLB: Boston Red Sox, Fire Brand of the American League
MLB: Detroit Tigers, Roar of the Tigers
MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Lumber Co.
MLB: Houston Astros, The Astros Dugout
MLB: General Baseball, Baseballistic
MLB: Chicago Cubs, The Cub Reporter
MLB: New York Mets, Take the 7 Train
MLB: San Diego Padres, San Diego Spotlight
MLB: New York Yankees, The Bronx Block
MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Hits
MLB: Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Magic
MLB: Philadelphia Phillies, Phanatic Phollow Up
MLB: Texas Rangers, Baseball Time in Arlington

NBA
NBA, Philadelphia 76ers, Passion & Pride
NBA, Charlotte Bobcats, Bobcat Bonfire
NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves, Wolves Watch
NBA, Boston Celtics, Celtic17
NBA, Orlando Magic, Believing in Magic
NBA, Detroit Pistons, Motoring
NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Spur of the Moment
NBA, Washington Wizards, Les Bullez
NBA, Miami Heat, Crazy from the Heat
NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cavalier Attitude
NBA, New York Knicks, Father Knickerbocker

Other Sports
NASCAR, The Pit Stop
Golf, Down the Middle
Tennis, Tennis Diary
Boxing, The Ring Report

UmpBump (Baseball)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: MAYBE - if you like "in-your-face" commentary

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: UmpBump, published by UmpBump

WEB ADDRESS: http://umpbump.com/press/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: In-your-face baseball commentary

MY REVIEW: I am so sick of "in-your-face" commentary. How about a little informed but well-mannered commentary? But I guess that's what young males like these days (and heck, considering what I read on women's college basketball boards, young women, too.) Write your posts in a a condescending way, and this will make you appear witty.

So, because of the way the posts are couched, I really can't give this a thumbs-up. But since this type of "witty" writing seems to be appreciated these days, if you like that, you'll like this.

Some sample paragraphs:

This is one in a series of posts where we laud teams’ shrewd offseason acquisitions and pan their terrible trades and silly signings.

The Braves finished six games out of first place in 2009, but their Pythagorean record had them only a game back of the Phillies. Moreover, Atlanta can expect continued improvement from Tommy Hanson, who MLB Trade Rumors’ Tim Dierkes predicts will be one of the NL’s 10 best pitchers in 2010. Super prospect Jason Heyward, meanwhile, is on his way and might make the team out of spring training (especially if he keeps shattering car windows in batting practice).

The Braves could have returned the same lineup as last season and been in position to make a playoff run.

Instead, they traded their best pitcher in a cost-cutting move.

The Braves sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera and two minor leaguers. Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron said the Braves got more for Vazquez than the Phils got for Cliff Lee. Tim Hudson says the Braves’ rotation will still be strong, even without Vazquez. But will it be strong enough? Atlanta’s staff will boast Hudson (who the team signed to a new contract this offseason), Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson and Kenshin Kawakami, who is better suited to a relief role. It’s a good group, and could be great depending on how Hudson does in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, and how young guns Hanson and Jurrjens progress. But the Braves’s staff could have been lights out if only ownership had been willing to spend a little more on Vazquez.

Elsewhere on the diamond, Atlanta signed Troy Glaus to play first base, a position at which he has played in only six games in his career. If Glaus is healthy, the signing could be a real coup, as the slugger is a regular threat to hit 30 home runs. But Glaus missed all but 14 games last season with St. Louis, after having arthroscopic shoulder surgery and experiencing a setback when he tried to make it back in time for opening day. Signing a first baseman to a one-year deal made sense, since the Braves expect prospect Freddie Freeman to be ready as early as 2011. But it’s a little surprising that a team that already boasts one oft-injured corner infielder (Chipper, we’re looking at you) would want to add another.

The Braves also signed the tatted up Eric Hinske, who’s played in the World Series three years in a row with three different teams. Hinske’s not good enough to play everyday, nor is he an ideal platoon partner for Matt Diaz, since both hit lefties better than righties.

So how does Hinske fit in? In an ideal world, Hinske will spend most of his time on the bench, pinch hitting and providing outfield and first base depth. But that’s only possible if Heyward makes the team out of spring training. Then Cabrera and Diaz can platoon in left.

Atlanta also tinkered with its bullpen this offseason, letting Mike Gonzalez walk and trading Rafael Soriano (who surprised the team by accepting salary arbitration). GM Frank Wren signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito to replace them, two old guys who are looking to prove they’ve still got what it takes.

The net result?

Atlanta took a big step back by dealing Vazquez, who was worth more than 6 games above replacement last season. To make up the difference, the Braves will be betting on solid health from Jones, Wagner, Saito and Glaus, and a return to form from Lowe. And that’s a lot to hope for. If only the team had found the cash to keep Vazquez. If only.

Grade: C-

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Hot Offseason Action: Oakland As
-Ozzie Guillen's Spanish tweets son oro solido [are solid gold])
-Hot Offseason Action: Tampa Bay Rays
-Hot Offseason Action: Washington Nationals
-Hot Offseason Action: San Francisco Giants

Blog-A-Bulls (Chicago Bulls, NBA Basketball)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: NO, Unsuitable for Kindle

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Blog-a-Bull

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.blogabull.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: For fans of the Chicago Bulls, Blog-A-Bull is in many ways the patron-saint of basketball blogging. Keep up-to-date with Bulls scores, stats and more.

MY REVIEW: The website for this blog apparently allows people to have a chat while the games are going on...but these posts do not feed into the Kindle. There are a few articles of news, and perhaps once the basketball season comes to an end and its strictly off-season news, these will be more prevalent and then the blog will be worth reading on the Kindle. As it is..I don't think so.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Hoops for St. Jude: March 1-7
-Open Game Thread #59 Oberflow: Bulls at Indiana
-Open Game Thread #59: Bulls at Indiana Pacers
-Noah will miss Saturday's game
-Open Game Thread #58, Overflow 2, Bulls vs Portland
-Open Game Thread 58, Overflow, Bulls vs Portlans

Airspeed (Aviation)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Airspeed

WEB ADDRESS: http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Join Stephen Force for everything aviation and aerospace. Here you'll find show notes, links to show audio, and updates on Capt Force's never-ending quest to go higher, faster, and harder. Smoke on!

MY REVIEW: Airspeed is the "The Official Blog and Website of the Airspeed Podcast and Media Network."

As such, many of the posts here aren't really suitable for the Kindle, as they are links to podcasts and episodes, which can only be viewed at the actual blog site. On the other hand, I'm giving this a thumbs up because the "regular" blog posts are pretty interesting and informative.

Here's a sample:

So it's late at night. And a Twitter follower tweets me with a link to Joe Sharkey’s High Anxiety blog. And I go read the blog entry in question. Crap. Did I mention that it's late at night? It is. I have way too much work to do. But I can’t let it go.

In his post, Joe asks, in relevant part, “Who [sic] do private aircraft, including corporate jets, some of which are the size of commercial regional jets and even 737s, get by without direct federal security screening before takeoff?” And he then goes on to suggest that DHS and TSA are going to take it in the pants politically for failing to adequately regulate GA.

Okay, I’ll trade in some sleep and rise to the bait.

Exactly what security procedures would you suggest? No background check of which I’m aware could possibly have revealed the threat that this guy is alleged to have posed. (Note that 18 of the 19 September 11, 2001 terrorists would have passed even an aircrew background check with flying colors.) No ramp security would have prevented what we saw in Austin today.

The fact is that private aircraft above a certain maximum takeoff weight (e.g. 45,500 kg MTOW) are subject to security procedures, as are private charter operations and other operations over a broad range of aircraft types and/or operational circumstances (DHS Full Program, Partial Program, Private Charter Program, sterile area requirements, DCA Access Program, etc.).

Smaller aircraft under most circumstances aren’t subject to TSA screening for a number of reasons, the most obvious of which seems to evade the American public: The elusive fact is that, as long as he was predisposed to do dramatic harm at the building site in the first place, this guy probably saved lives by using a general aviation aircraft. Any reasonable person should understand that using a GA aircraft is more difficult and less effective at the task of damaging a building or hurting people than much more easily obtainable things like a backpack or a rental truck.

I don’t want to belabor the point with a series of scenarios involving backpacks full of explosives or raise again visions of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City with a rental truck. And, lest my words be twisted, I’m by no means suggesting that anyone ought to bomb or damage anything under any circumstances.

The point is that a GA airplane is a wholly inefficient and overly complicated way to deliver any explosive. Or even blunt force. You have to get the plane. You have to know how to fly it. You have to be able to fly it with reasonable precision at high speeds. (I fly some aerobatics and I can tell you that it’s not as simple as it looks.) You have to navigate to the intended target. And you pretty much have to stay in the plane all the way to impact (leaving you, er, unable to do it again).

If your goal is to hurt people and damage property, that’s ridiculously complicated and unnecessary. No self-respecting terrorist would go through all this trouble if hurting people and damaging property was the goal.

Joe, if you fear actual loss of life and damage to property, you need to re-focus. It’s not the airplane, man! Sure, airplanes crashing into buildings are exciting and they make the news. But to focus on the airplane is to bury yourself and your readers in fluff and ignore the real issue. This guy would have been a lot more dangerous with a rental truck.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-It's Not the Airplane, Man
-Cessna Citation Mustang - video episode
-Talking with Acro Camp IP Don Weaver
-Tailwhhel Training and Camera
-Acro Camp Announcement and Casting
-L-39 Driver Tim Brutsche

Sean's Mountain Adventure Update (mountain climbing)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: NO, Inactive

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Sean's Mountain Adventure Update

WEB ADDRESS: http://verticaljunkie.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: First hand ski touring and climbing reports from Rainier, Crystal and points east

MY REVIEW: This was a young blog, only 17 posts in 2009, and one in January. It could have been interesting, but perhaps the author had unrealistic expectations on how long it would take to build up a readership. Unless an author is very lucky, it takes at least three months for a blog to pick up a regular readership, and that only after posting at least three times a week during each week of those three months.

I'll keep an eye on it...if the author ever revives it, I'll let you know.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Big White Ski Resort (Jan 5, 2010)
-Finally Some weather (Dec 31, 2010)
-Teanaway Dec 19 (Dec 22, 2010)
Stevens Pass Nov 14 (Nov 17, 2010)
I hate the fall! (Nov 5, 2010)

High and Tight (Baseball in general)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: NO.

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: High and Tight

WEB ADDRESS: http://highandtight.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Headline news, analysis and commentary for the New York Yankees' fan, culled from SportsBlogs' New York Yankees Daily Entries.

MY REVIEW: Well, although the blog description says this is a blog for Yankees, the posts seem to skip all over the place. The "commentary" is a single sentence, commenting on comments made by other people - usually sarcastic. I found it uninteresting. I don't care for the man's sense of humor, and I also don't care to read F-bombs in blog entries... (It also hasn't been updated since January 13, even though spring training is already goig on.)

There are plenty of New York Yankees blogs, and plenty of General Baseball blogs. I don't see the point in adding this one to your list of must reads.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Dumbest Statement of 2010 (So Far) (Jan 13, 2010)
-Worst Team Slogan Ever (Jan 12, 2010)
-Huge Move By the Padres (Jan 7, 2010)
-Congratualtions Andre Dawson (Jan 6, 2010)
-So How Many Interns Was Peter Gammons Sleeping With ((Dec 8, 2009) [Perhaps even now Gammons is suing this guy, which is why he hasn't posted in over a month]

Independent Instructor's Blog

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Instructor's Blog - IndependentFlightInstructors.com

WEB ADDRESS: http://independentflightinstructors.com/instructors/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Learn about various aviation topics that are on the minds of our instructors. The blogs focus on common errors or gaps in pilot knowledge, procedures and technique. Rule and procedure changes are discussed as well. The instructor's blogs try to make a clear distinction when discussing procedures that are universal (for example: entering a hold), and techniques that make flying easier (for example: ways of determining what type of hold entry to use).

MY REVIEW: This Independent Flight Instructor's Blog is an excellent idea, and a must-read for all pilots. The blog entries are made by Jordan Miller.

The blog is updated with very detailed entries, twice a month on average. (On a whim, I emailed the author, and he said his entries take so much time because he is careful to cover everything. (Which is true, judging by the articles I've read.)

So, this is where subscribing via the Kindle comes in. Since the blog is updated on average every other week, and its only a dollar a month, it makes economic sense to subscribe to it so you get the updates as soon as they are made.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Knowing the final fix (Feb 6, 2010)
-Risk Management Handbook Review (Jan 24, 2010)
-A Tough Decision (Recognizing fatigue) (Jan 17,2010)
-Multiple pilot SRM on guard (Dec 28, 2009)
-NTSB Chairwoman Lambasts the FAA (Dec 16, 2009)
-Little Mistakes Are Big Problems (NW Airlines 188 crash, and monitoring guard) (Dec 02, 2009)

Dodger Hits (MLB Baseball)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: NO. Inactive.

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: N/A

WEB ADDRESS: http://mvn.com/mlb/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: N/A

MY REVIEW: Who would have thought a baseball blog would shut down? But that's what's happened to Dodgers Hits, which was apparently part of the MVN network (Most Valuable Network) of blogs which was shut down in November, 2009. But they didn't bother to remove the blog offering from Kindle.

I've left a review at the page to point this out, so other people won't waste time subscribing to a blog that no longer exists.