Cleveland Sports Forum

Darkstar wrote:If Jessica Alba were on Maude, I may have watched it a bit more.

Granted, she's no Bea Arthur...and for that reason, I would've watched Maude more.

There was a Comedy Central "roast" a few years back when Bea Arthur was still living. She was a guest roaster and was used by name by another comic on stage with a line that made me fall out off the couch. Unfortunately, I can't even get close to sharing it in any semblance of context here....

Those Comedy Central roasts are hit and miss on the quality of humor. Few make the level of the old Dean Martin roasts.

Hey Rusty, I wore an Otis/Charlie Sheen hat for you.

Seagull, I didn't win the boat tournament, but I did catch 2nd out of about 30.

I had fished the Florida Keys and the Atlantic gulf stream previously and often, but this evening was my first going 30 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. It was a reef fishing trip, hoping for keeper grouper and in season snapper.

I threw a few bucks in the winner take all pot for largest catch of the night. It was not a sport fishing trip, so I figured I might get lucky.

I ended up having a Manny Acta night. I caught three fish in the first five minutes and five total in the first thirty minutes....and then I cooled off.

I landed the above ladyfish in the the last 15 minutes, but was just nosed by someone who had caught a really fat grouper. My fish was the longest, and his was the weightiest.

Most heartbreaking part of the night was that I landed four grouper that were in the 18 inch range, but had to release them as 20 inches is the minimum. I tried to convince the mate that the fish I had caught were "those Japanese goldfish kind of things that must have gotten out of someone's cement pond," but he didn't bite.

I also caught a few blue runner of good species size, but was told they weren't that good to eat so they went back. Now that I have arrived home, I have found some interesting Japanese inspired recipes for them, so next time I'm keeping the blue runners.

I ended up with two keeper in season snapper as my profits for the night.

Still a good time. Seven hours cruising and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico with bait and tackle included for $70.00. It WAS kind of neat to be 30 miles out and far enough that the lights of land could not be seen.

The dog has been going crazy smelling my clothes since I got home.

"Fish guts!" "I smell fish guts!"

Everytime I get home from hunting and fishing my dogs sniff me like crazy. Even after I wash up. Last year after I got home from deer hunting my male dog sniffed me then whimpered, tucked his tail, and left me. Wouldn't come around me rest of the day. I had killed a mule deer and field dressed it and the smell of blood was on me and my clothes. Scared him pretty good.

TFISC- Way to go! We usually go off of Marco Island when we have guests and they want to go. Last time I went all I caught was sharks. I dont like them as food.

Looks like a Manny Acta/ Andy Garcia hat to me.

I think Cali looked like Ben Gazzara.
Better not pick on those fish. Patrick Swayze will give you a spinning roundhouse kick.

loufla wrote:TFISC- Way to go! We usually go off of Marco Island when we have guests and they want to go. Last time I went all I caught was sharks. I dont like them as food.

Lou, if you ever get the urge go out on a boat fishing let me know. My wife has zero to minimal desire to go smell fish guts and diesel fuel on a rocking boat. When I lived in Miami I bridge fished and fished the keys and gulf stream by boat frequently, though not really too seriously. I would have offered an invite last night, but didn't have you pegged as a boat fishing guy. That, plus I wanted to see how this boat was before I got anyone else involved in spending time and money. The advance online reviews were mixed to negative, but I'll offer after my experience that many of those reviewers were apparently not frequent experiencers of larger crowd boat fishing trips. This one was a solid "OK +."

rusty2 wrote:Looks like a Manny Acta/ Andy Garcia hat to me.

Well, at least you didn't say "Andie McDowell."

(she's from Gaffney, you know.......)

Hillbilly wrote:Everytime I get home from hunting and fishing my dogs sniff me like crazy. Even after I wash up. Last year after I got home from deer hunting my male dog sniffed me then whimpered, tucked his tail, and left me. Wouldn't come around me rest of the day. I had killed a mule deer and field dressed it and the smell of blood was on me and my clothes. Scared him pretty good.

I'll take the Ben Gazzara note, as I've got to admit somewhat reluctantly you accurately noted some close resemblance. I hate those "sinus sacks" I have sometimes these days. I had sinus surgery last year that helped, but allergies to this darn fish gut smelling dog still occasionally keep them swollen.

Norm MacDonald has large sinus sacks as well as I noted when my wife and I met him at the comedy club just up the street from our former Califrickifornia home. If anyone ever gets a chance to see the DVD or re-airing of Norm's "Me Doing Standup," it's an x-rated hoot.

Thursday, 16 August 2012 19:00

Progressive insurance on defense after court case

Written by By MATTHEW BARAKAT

Authors: By MATTHEW BARAKAT

McLEAN, Va. (AP) -- The Progressive Corp. insurance group is defending itself against an onslaught of negative publicity after it tried to avoid paying $75,000 to the family of a client killed in a car crash and tried to blame the wreck on her.

The criticism began Monday with a blog post from 33-year-old Matt Fisher of Brooklyn, whose sister Kaitlynn Fisher had Progressive insurance and was killed in a June 2010 car crash in Baltimore. In order to avoid the payout to Kaitlynn Fisher's family, Progressive interjected itself into a lawsuit the Fisher family filed against the other driver.

Last week, a jury found the other driver negligent, despite Progressive's efforts to persuade the jury otherwise.

Matt Fisher said Thursday that the deluge of online support his family has received is gratifying. The backlash against Progressive was strong enough that the Ohio-based company felt compelled to issue a public statement on the case. The statement denied Progressive was representing the driver who was ultimately found negligent. And it prompted even further backlash because it failed to acknowledge that, as a practical matter, Progressive's lawyer was indeed working in court as a third party to combat the Fisher family's claims.

While Fisher didn't quite anticipate the wave of support he received, he was sure others who learned about the case would be as shocked as he was that his sister's own insurance company was going to such lengths to cast the blame on her for the accident.

The Fisher family's lawyer, Annapolis, Md.-based attorney Allen Cohen, said it is technically true that Progressive was not representing the driver who caused the crash. During the trial, though, Progressive's attorney coordinated with the defense and put on witnesses who tried to undermine Kaitlynn Fisher's case, Cohen said.

According to Cohen, it's not necessarily unusual for an insurance company to go into court as an adversary of its client. But Cohen said it was unusual and wrong in this case because he believed that Progressive had ample reason to believe Kaitlynn was the victim, as well as a legal obligation of good faith toward its client. An independent witness at the scene testified that the other driver, Ronald K. Hope III of Baltimore, ran a red light and caused the accident. Even Hope's insurer, Nationwide, also did not dispute that Hope was at fault and paid $25,000, the limit of its coverage, to the Fisher family.

Kaitlynn Fisher's policy covered the actions of an uninsured or underinsured driver that caused injury or death up to $100,000. Because Nationwide had paid $25,000, the Fishers believed they were due $75,000 from Progressive. The company refused to acknowledge that Hope was at fault because if the crash was Kaitlynn Fisher's fault, it would not have to pay the $75,000. The Fisher family then sued, hoping that Progressive would have to make good on its policy if a jury found Hope negligent, Cohen said.

Instead, Progressive chose to believe the testimony of a passenger in Kaitlynn Fisher's car, who suffered brain damage in the accident and was unable to give a statement until two months later. Cohen said that woman testified Kaitlynn Fisher was at fault, but suffered memory problems and other injuries that made her testimony unreliable.

A Progressive spokesman, Jeff Sibel, said the company respects the jury's decision.

"This was a complex case, and we felt at the time we had fulfilled our obligations, and that's why we represented ourselves in court," Sibel said.

As for the online backlash, Sibel said "we're always concerned with what our customers think" and that Progressive is now committed to resolving the situation with the Fisher family.

Cohen said he does not anticipate a problem now collecting the $75,000 payment from Progressive. But he said he is considering filing a complaint with the Maryland insurance commissioner that, if upheld, would require a larger payment.

Matt Fisher, meanwhile, said that while the legal victory is important, it has also been an unnecessary distraction for a grieving family.

"The thing I would like more than anything to be talking about is how much I loved my sister," he said.

Read more http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... TE=DEFAULT

Well, A-Rod is certainly a solid capitalist:


The New York Yankees’ star third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, has listed his residence in Miami’s South Beach, at $38 million. Rodriguez bought the palatial property in 2010 for $24 million and is attempting to sell it for more than 58 percent of his purchase price.

Jorge Alonso, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman Florida, told Yahoo! Sports that the high end of the Miami market is out of control with buyers from Russia and Brazil who are “buying like crazy.” The Bottom Line on NBCNews.com recently reported that another residence in the upscale neighborhood sold at $47 million.


..........


The spectacular single-family residence owned by the Yankees’ slugger has nine bedrooms and 11 full bathrooms in its nearly 20,000 square feet of living space. The waterfront property also has an outdoor kitchen, two docks, and 275 feet of private water frontage.

The master suite alone is more than 2,200 square feet. The South Beach abode also contains a guesthouse, a standalone gym with a batting cage and a steam room, and a four-car garage. There is also a home-theater room and a commercial-size elevator. Security is tight as there are 16 surveillance cameras and 12-foot walls of tempered glass that surround the property.


Pictures included in this link to the story:


http://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/real- ... 811334.php

I was going to buy that house after I hit the Powerball last Wednesday.

Greatist.com ranks Cleveland in top 20 for best cities for 20-somethings

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_ ... z23qKvQc3o


Posted: 5:39 PM

By: Mel Watson, newsnet5.com

CLEVELAND - If you had to pick the best places in the United States for 20-somethings , would Cleveland make your list?

Maybe not, but it made somebody's. Greatist.com named Cleveland one of the best places for new college grads, plenty of jobs in manufacturing and engineering along with great parks bike rides or walks.

The city fell in the No. 7 place, just one spot behind Chicago.

Did you know that C-town is also called Beertown U.S.A? Greatist.com said Draft Magazine gave us the title taking a few sips of the suds at Great Lakes Brewing Company, Thirsty Dog and Willoughby Brewing.

Block parties are a big hit in the area, too. Cleveland ranks sixth -- and who knew there was such a rating? And after a late night on your neighborhood street, you're sure to get a good night's sleep because the city is ranked second by realage.com for the best ZZZs.

Cleveland's average income is $24,687. The average one bedroom apartment is $640 and the median age is 35.7. Weather is where Greatlist.com gives us our lowest ranking out of the top 20, which include:

1) Albuquerque, New Mexico
2) Austin, Texas
3) Boston, Massachusetts
4) Boulder, Colorado
5) Burlington, Vermont
6) Chicago, Illinois
7) Cleveland, Ohio
8) Dallas, Texas
9) Denver, Colorado
10) Honolulu, Hawaii

Other things 20-somethings factored into their top choices: sustainability, efficient transit systems, cleanliness, and affordability. Some added walkability of streets, prevalence of gyms, and overall well-being. Number of happy hours, zoos and places to booze were reasons, too.

To check out more about why these cities were ranked in the top 20, including the full list, check out Greatlist.com's story here: http://on.wews.com/NtR9iH

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_ ... z23qKQDlec

Speaking of 20 somethings, my wife and I spent the late afternoon and earlier evening at a home with our youngest daughter and her boyfriend, and some assorted of their friends, and some assorted parents.

The plan was that the kids would do the cooking and grilling, and the old folks would just sit back and converse and enjoy.

I started to kibitz on the grilling of the corn, but my wife successfully held me back, as she should have.

After dinner, all of us old folk were introduced to a beer drinking game called "Flippy Cup."

I loved it.

We played in teams.

Dexterity is not my strongest suit, but I picked up my skill at "cup flipping" as the rounds went on to my personal satisfaction.

If "Flippy Cup" had the equivalent of a designated hitter, I could be the designated beer shot downer. The "20 somethings" expressed amazement that I squashed everyone in the "down the beer quickly" portion of the game, even as I am pushing 60.

My wife offered that I was a frat boy. I offered that I am mostly of Irish ancestory, with a good dose of German, and a nice finish of Native American.

In our match this evening of boys against the girls, the girls kicked arse. I offered that breasts were somehow an advantage to cup flipping.

We all vowed to meet again for a serious "flippy cup" match at noon on a College Gameday Saturday early in the 2012 season.

I need to get some more "red solo cup" supplies to practice, because I refuse to lose....

Two guys are sitting in an Irish bar ... They start talking, one says to the other, I'm actually from Ireland.

Really, I'm from Ireland too. Let me buy you a drink. Bartender, 2 whiskeys!

So what part of Ireland are you from?

Dublin!

Really? I'm from Dublin too! Bartender, 2 more!!

So what part of Dublin did you grow up?!

Tallaght!

No kidding?! I grew up in Tallaght too!! Bartender, 2 more!!!

So where did you go to school?!

St. Mary's!

No kidding, I went to St. Mary's too!!! Bartender, 2 more!!!!

A guy sitting down the bar hears the commotion and asks the bartender, what's going on down there with those guys?

Bartender says, oh, pay no mind to those two lads. It's just the O'Reilly brothers getting drunk again.