Another Goodbye-Superior Ice Cream

Time for another goodbye,but not to a passed athlete,actor or politician.
This time,the goodbye goes to a business as Superior Ice Cream (nee' Dairy) ends its business today after 80 years in Hagerstown....

To almost anyone above 25,Superior has meant ice cream in Hagerstown and when either as a child or taking your child there,Superior was the place to go when you were in the mood for ice cream or other sweet treats.
Superior had to have taken hit after hit over the last 20 years or so as competitors to its kingdom arrived in Hagerstown and each created its own niche'.
The Big Dipper showed up first with an ice cream challenge not far away and others such as The Meadows (Frozen Custard),Sweet Frog (Frozen Yogurt) and Rita's (Italian Ice) each took a slice of the territory and between those and the lack of foot traffic near the Superior location in a residential neighborhood,one could see how tough keeping things going at Superior could be...

Small businesses are having a rough time today and I doubt that places like Rita's or the Meadows (as good as they are!) will have the same endurance in the area like Superior did,although the type of memories that are made with children are more about who you made them with than what you had as a snack.
I'm starting to think that the chain places (as good as some of them are) are just too big and every time that a Superior goes down that a place of its type isn't going to go up.
What will survive that my kids remember fondly?
It's a sad thing to think about-any time there is growth,something gets pushed aside.

I'm sad to see Superior go by and even sadder that there is one less neighborhood place to go to.
I used to take the kids there (Ryan especially after a ball game) a decent amount,but in recent years,I didn't go as much.
It feels like a loss and it is,but I wasn't a regular customer of late.
I still remember going after shopping events or church as a kid on our weekly trip to Hagerstown.
I usually ordered a banana split or got a orange sherbet cone and yesterday when I stopped in for the last time,I made sure to get a banana split.
It was one final tip of the hat to the past.
A past that we aren't getting back-guess that just means I'm getting older....

Pigskin Picking Machine

We conclude the NFL season and most of the bowl season with the PPM.

Last Week:7-1

Overall:97-40

College 

Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State over Notre Dame 30-17

Orange Bowl

Oklahoma over Clemson 24-19

Sugar Bowl

Alabama over Michigan State 21-16

NFL

Steelers over Browns 35-10

Falcons over Saints 45-42

Game of the Week

Packers over Vikings 28-20

On the Signing Front

One last signing front before 2015 ends,although this doesn't finish what needs to be done,it does reduce the pile from multiples to just one sizable stack...

Before I get started,I missed a story from the Charleston River Dogs and maybe the oddest guy that I've met all season in Rony Bautista.
Bautista,not exactly a huge prospect at 24 and having pitched exactly one game above Low A,signed one of three on day one for me,I skipped day two,but was reported (Wasn't there) to have cursed at a grapher on night two before day three.
I tried to get the other 2 cards that I had for him and he signed one,handed the other one back and "mumbled Best Buy".
None of us figured just what he was talking about and the best guess was that he meant to say "ebay".
Yep,I'm getting rich off my Rony Bautista signed 2014 Staten Island Yankee card-I'm quitting my regular job today!

A quick trip to Harrisburg for a few Akron Rubber Ducks resulted in me getting two (Usually just one) Bradley Zimmer cards finished (2014 NY/Penn and 2015 Carolina top prospects).
Fred Landucci helped with the Senators on their team set with the best being late season callups Abel De Los Santos and Pedro Severino on their team set cards along with Wilmer Difo on his Carolina League top prospect...
Fred would also add two more Zimmer's (USA and Lynchburg) over the course of the series and Adam Plutko on his Lynchburg and Carolina League top prospects.

The Delmarva Shorebirds hit Hagerstown for the final time and I didn't need much to finish.
Jomar Reyes signed his Delmarva and SAL prospect card after having a broken hand on his previous visit for the only interesting Delmarva sign,but Erick Fedde finally arrived in Hagerstown after being drafted by Washington in round one in 2014.
Fedde signed his USA,Bowman and Auburn team card and was very nice.
Rick Ankiel made his only appearance in Hagerstown as an organizational instructor and I was able to get one card for myself and a card for Ryan's showdown set.

Thanks to Mike Oravec for all his help this season in Frederick as we often helped each other throughout the season.
Mike was invaluable with the Frederick Keys and some of their opponents this season..

The Lexington Legends brought Kansas City Royals prospects to Hagerstown.
The Legends had two first rounders in Foster Griffin and Chase Vallot.
Both were very nice and signed all three cards that I had for them.
I added a few more of former Brave and Lexington hitting coach Glenn Hubbard,who added another new quirk,
Hubbard would not sign his 2015 Lexington card because it said "Batting Coach" on it,
Brad Adams almost got Hubbard to sign it when he erased it off the card,Hubbard stopped and considered it for a second and then said "Nahhh" and walked to the locker room...

The final visit to Frederick of the Carolina Mudcats saw me get a few stragglers from the worst signing team that I did all season.
I got my usual nothing from Connor Lien,but I did get two from Dustin Peterson,who others said was either a one or none,
The interesting addition was 2006 and 2007 Tristar and USA card from Justin Jackson,the former faded outfield prospect that is attempting to make a comeback as a pitcher,.
Jackson was very nice and talked quite a bit about his attempt...

Brandon Diehl helped with Reynaldo Lopez on his Carolina League top prospect and Derreck Chupak got three cards from Stephen Johnson for me when he was in Harrisburg for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Johnson was a big pickup in hindsight as he was traded to the Reds for Marlon Byrd,so was not around when I did the Squirrels later in the year.

We wrap up with the Hickory Crawdads and their visit to Hagerstown.
Considering that the Crawdads pulled their usual stunt of waiting until the final homestand of the season to release a team set meant that I had little for them.I did get Luis Ortiz and Michael DeLeon on their SAL top prospect cards,Jose Trevino on his USA and SAL cards and first round pick Dillon Tate on two USA cards and a Spokane card.
This series also saw former All-Star Dan Uggla rehabbing with the Suns.
Uggla came over each time called and I was able to get his 2012 and 2014 Heritage cards signed.

That's a lot and there is a lot more to come before Mr.Winter leaves,so stay tuned..

Browns run out of time vs Chiefs 17-13

The Cleveland Browns used a ball control offense to hang in there against the favored Kansas City Chiefs and had a chance late in the game to win.
However,a Johnny Manziel completion to Darius Jennings deep in Kansas City territory was the last gasp as the Browns could not get another play off in a 17-13 win for the home team.
Manziel threw for just 136 yards and an interception,but rushed for 108 with Isaiah Crowell adding another 88 for the suddenly ground-bound Browns..
The 3-12 Browns host Pittsburgh this week in the finale' of an awful season...

1) Johnny Manziel's passing numbers were pretty bad,but I'm not going to blame him-Manziel wasn't sacked,but he was constantly running for his life from either a fierce Chief pass rush or awful Browns offensive line (I think it's both).
Considering that fact,it was a miracle the Browns had any offense at all..

2) Manziel was inaccurate (13 of 32),but I loved the taking the blame for the loss in the locker room despite it not being all his fault.
Manziel may be immature off the field,but that is the type of thing that you like to see from a quarterback of any age....

3) The key part of this game?
Cleveland taking 12 minutes off the clock in the second half and coming away with just three points.
A touchdown would have tied the game and settling for three was the final score for either team in the game.

4) Isaiah Crowell continued his resurgence with the aforementioned 88 yards including the only Brown touchdown.
I don't think Crowell is ever going to be a Pro Bowl level back,but I think if you had another solid back with him in tandem-Crowell could be very effective in the right situation...

5) I'm not against Mike Pettine surviving for another year,especially if the tradeoff is the firing of Ray Farmer,but he made himself look bad again with the handling of Dwayne Bowe.
Pettine made Bowe a captain (former Chief) after so many inactives and was rewarded with an inability to get open on an afternoon that ended with zero catches on one pass thrown to him.

6) I have been critical of Ray Farmer's draft prowess,but Nate Orchard is beginning to show signs of having potential three down playing time.
Orchard finished with a sack and a interception and even thought he was drafted to increase the pass rush,Orchard has been surprisingly strong when used in pass coverage.
I'd still like to see Orchard used more as a rusher,but for a Ray Farmer draft pick,Orchard has been reasonably productive...

7) The defense did show up in the second half with a shutdown of the Chiefs as they kept Kansas City off the board.
They came up huge on a 3rd and inches stop in the fourth quarter and Danny Shelton has had his best two games of the year against Seattle and Kansas City.
Combine that with the play of Jamie Meder and I have a little hope for the improvement against the run for 2016.

8) The Browns secondary let the team down on both Kansas City touchdowns.
On the Jeremy Maclin score,Jordan Poyer didn't give any help to Tayshaun Gipson on the rotation inside and on Travis Kelce's TD,Tramon Williams was simply beaten on the ball and just was out of position..

9) In a league that has started using roman numerals and abbreviations for senior and junior on jerseys,can anyone tell me why the Browns have two players named Williams that play in the secondary and not use an initial?

10) If indeed,this report is correct and Mike Pettine survives this season-look back at a gutsy high effort against a playoff team on the road as a possible reason why.
Pettine has to show that his team hasn't quit on him to return and the Browns are outmanned,outgunned but not always outgutted.
It'll be interesting to see the effort next week vs the Steelers...

Cleaning out the inbox

Not a lot to clean out,but on another slow day,I've decided to go ahead and clean things up...

Give credit to Florida State as they are getting a new scoreboard and instead of scrapping their old one,they are giving it to 1-AA and in-state school Florida A&M.
The Rattlers will have to spend 100 grand for installing and programming it,but that is far cheaper than they could ever spend for a similar board.
Full credit to Florida State for a very classy move...

The biggest news item for the teams that we cover here was the Pittsburgh Pirates signing 32 year old vagabond John Jaso with the intention of platooning him at first base with Michael Morse until Josh Bell can develop into the eventual starter.
The two year contract is worth eight million and Jaso's attempt to play first base will be interesting to watch.
Jaso has played two games at first in his career after spending time at catcher and in the outfield and can he learn enough to be even close to average defensively to not be a liability?
Jaso hit .286 with 5 hrs in 70 games last season with Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh also claimed righthander Yoervis Medina off waivers from the Cubs and added lefty Kyle Lobstein from the Tigers for future considerations.
Medina went 1-0 with a save last season as he split the year between Seattle and the Cubs.
Medina's numbers make me think that he could make the club as a long to middle reliever and a small move like this for depth could mean the Pirates are closer than expected to moving Mark Melancon.
Lobstein went 3-8 with an ERA of 5.94 for the Tigers and looks to be to headed to AAA Indianapolis for injury depth.
The Pirates lost reliever Bobby Lafromboise on the waiver wire to the Angels when they made the claim on Medina...

The Giants were idle,but the Indians made some depth decisions in pitching as the team bought Dan Otero from Philadelphia and signed southpaw free agents Tom Gorzelanny and Ross Detwiler to minor league deals.
Otero,a 30 year old righty,spent last season with Oakland before being claimed in the off-season by the Phillies on waivers.
Otero struggled last season with an ERA of 6.75 in 41 games,but had tremendous numbers with the A's in 2013 and 14,so this could be a case of buying low and with relief pitchers being such a variable from year to year-this could be an excellent addition at a cheap cost.
The 29 year old Detwiler went 1-5 with an ERA over seven in a season split between Texas and Atlanta.
The former Washington first rounder was used as a swingman as a Ranger and as a reliever in Atlanta,so the Indians could be looking at him in either role.
Gorzelanny,a former 14 game winner for the Pirates in 2007, has been a situational LOOGY for the Brewers and Tigers for the last two seasons and could fill in the same role in Cleveland.
Gorzelanny was 2-2 with an ERA of 5.95 in 48 appearances with Detroit last season and will turn 34 during the 2016 season.

The Indians also released Chris Johnson and ate the remaining season at eight million on his contract.
Johnson had been obtained in order to relieve Cleveland of the salaries of Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn in a trade with Atlanta last season.
Johnson hit ,289 with a homer in his one month cameo as an Indian.

The Day after

Normally,the day after Christmas is not a day loaded with things to write about.
There isn't a ton of sports to write about,despite the NBA's effort to make it more of a basketball day.
Actually,unless Christmas falls on a weekend (it will in 2016),it will be void of a football presence and football holds center stage at this time of the year...

I did watch the Cavaliers loss to Golden State,but I did so while visiting my parents,so while I watched the game,I didn't watch it with enough detail to write about it.
I do think despite the Warrior win that I saw enough to say that once the Cavaliers have smoothed out the kinks with the returning Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert that no matter the Warriors record-Cleveland can beat them in a seven game series....

I did pretty well on Christmas Day.
My ladies that take care of me every day stunned me with my first ever pair of Beats headphones.
They are wired,so clumsy me will need to make that adjustment to keep from having them fly off my head with my fidgety nature,but they are really nice.
I also got a neat looking jacket in an army green that is going to come in super handy on those April and May baseball nights where it gets chilly.
Toss in another season of Person of Interest on DVD,a badly needed Giants travel bag to replace my warrior of a gym bag which finally is showing signs of wearing down after over 15 years of heavy everyday use and I was pretty pleased.

This was a different Christmas as I bought things that were on my list before hand and as a result,it was like getting extra presents.
I bought a Giants hoodie for those same cold nights.
This one is a pullover,where my other hoodies are zip ups,so it does fill a need and I bought it late in the Christmas season with a 30 percent off along with a free shipping offer that made it reasonable for me to buy...

I also asked for Strat O Matic baseball or football for the PC as I was finally ready to make the leap from the beloved dice and card game to the PC.
A sale resulted in me saving 25 percent on the game and I am thrilled with it as it came with the 2014 game and another sale later on other seasons saw me add the 1969 season while I was sitting in Cleveland.
I've been playing like crazy and there will be a review coming in the future on SOM on the PC,the good,bad and everything else in the near future...

Even work hasn't been too bad this week,so this has been a pretty good Christmas,so let's hope to keep things rolling into the new year.
Hope you and yours enjoyed your holiday as well!!!

Podcast-Christmas Thoughts

We offer some Christmas thoughts and thanks with a little Dean Martin to boot!..