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Around SBN: Falcons and Chargers Recap: The Win Is The Thing Bar-right-arrows



the end. (dld 9.22.08)

I would like to personally extend my thanks to the Mariners for crawling to the Coliseum this weekend (yes, that is a shameless link to AN's millionth comment, which, in case you missed it, just happened to be made by me!) and allowing us to SWEEEEEP the series. Three wins in three days? Who knew it was possible?

And even though this is a lost season, full of frustration and pain (especially for all the guys who got injured), I always have a great time at the Coliseum, and I always, always want the A's to win. Draft picks, Stephen Strasburg, we could've had SmOaK!!!11, blah blah blah--I cannot root for my team to lose. If they happen to lose, which was a far too common occurrence this season, so be it, but I will keep rooting for them to win, as hard as I can and as long as I can.

Thankfully I didn't have to deal with any losing this weekend. Instead, I saw lots of winning and lots of celebration, and I took LOTS of pictures. No, really, this post is huge. You have been warned.

Star-divide

So, Friday night, we saw a lot of good pitching and just enough offense to get by.

Felix pitches to Travis to start the game.

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Ryan watches a pitch go by.

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Ryan fails for the third out, so Travis has to bring out his cap and glove. This becomes a recurring theme over the weekend.

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Later, after Trav's home run (which I didn't get on camera because I was eating an apple at the time), Ryan comes up again--and this time he doubles!

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So, for a brief moment, Ry was hitting .300. I'm pretty sure he didn't have another hit for the rest of the series, so I made sure to catch the high point.

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And after the game, the A's were kind enough to have a fireworks show in honor of my millionth comment (are you sick of me mentioning that yet?).  After the fireworks, I considered rolling myself up in my green blanket and hiding under the bullpen bench so I could camp out on the field overnight. I just love it out there.

On to Saturday, which featured very little good pitching and a lot of wacky defensive changes. Before the game, there were drummers on the field for Japanese Heritage Day.

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Travis had bring out RyRy's stuff again.

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Captain Kirk, before he gave up all those runs and got the hook.

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Deja vu all over again. I think Ryan's just lazy.

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Aaaand it's Blevins time...

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Hi Trav!

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Then Grandpa Embree came in. 10 pitches later...

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But hope was not lost. Bobby the Hairless Warrior stands triumphantly on second, watching the conference on the mound.

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Carlos sighting!

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Thanks, Corcoran.

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Ryan gets someone else to do his work for him, as the outfield shuffle begins and he heads out to right (yay!).

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And here's Dale getting ready to do the splits, if necessary (or even if not necessary).

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Later: heywaitwhathappenedtotheinfield?

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Victory!

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After the game, the team chaplain, Donnie Moore, and some of the guys came out to talk a bit about their faith (apparently it was church community day). First, some big bodybuilders (and the chaplain) performed "feats of strength," such as ripping phone books in half, smashing stacks of bricks, and crushing cans of soda until they exploded.

Here, this guy is blowing up a hot water bottle until it explodes. That wouldn't be easy to do.

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Our guys were sitting right in front of him, in the first couple rows, but they got scared of exploding things, like the hot water bottle, and especially the full soda cans (in the pic above, you can see Ziggy plugging one of his ears and Carlos shielding his face), and most of them moved over to the sides during those things. 

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That's Rajai, Gio, Outman, Carlos, and Smith (and some random kid). When I saw Smith, I thought, "Oooh, Greggles!" and then I wondered where in the world "Greggles" came from... I know I must've read it on AN somewhere...

Gio was a little scaredy cat during the soda can bit--I guess he didn't want to get his nice street clothes full of soda--because he practically ran all the way to the side and then over the caution tape, up the aisle five or so rows, till he was standing like right next to me in the aisle. I almost turned around to take a picture of him, but I figure that would've scared him more than the exploding soda, so I just waited till he was a bit further away.

So here are all the guys sitting on the dugout: Ziggy, Travis, Cliff, Huston, Outman, Carlos, Greg, Rajai, Gio (and Tye Waller next to Gio).

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This was the part of the day when my camera battery decided to die, so I'd turn it on and quick take one picture before it shut off, and then repeat the process a few minutes later.

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Rajai mentioned that his name means "victorious king." He is also the resident barber, and cut both Carlos' and Gio's hair (they were both very proud of their styles). Some of the guys pointed to Travis, saying he should be next, to which I say, Nooo, not the honey and sunshine!

Ooookay, I've made it to Sunday: the first half of the game wasn't all that spectacular, but it got much, much better as the afternoon went on.

Oh, and Sean: WHY must you pick the black tops?! Our last sight of the team, and they're wearing the worst uniforms. Not. Nice.

Pre-game stretching.

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Ry tries not to be jealous as Dale fraternizes with the enemy.

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After the 40th Anniversary Team ceremony, the current team finally takes the field.

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Gio doing some stretching down by the bullpen during the game.

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It was great to have drummers out in left field. Here, Travis joins them in signaling the number of outs.

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Finally, we have a hit! Thanks, Carlos!

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I'm pretty sure this is my favorite picture of the entire weekend.

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News flash: Dale wants to take care of sick puppies!

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Also, I would like to say thank you to Raul Ibanez, for taking such pride in his defense. Really, Raul, we couldn't have done it without you.

Ziggy came in in the 8th, which was slightly surprising, but I was okay with it. Oh, and Donnie Murphy was back! I didn't know he had been called up until Roy Steele announced he was playing third. Too bad, I was kind of looking forward to seeing our would-be vet back at the hot corner...

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Cust rounds third after his 30th homer! Earlier in the game, I had a Cust basher sitting behind me. He was so proud when Jack popped out with runners on. By the time the 8th came around, he had moved. Too bad. I would've liked to hear his reaction to what Cust did in this at-bat.

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9th inning! The final three outs at the Coliseum this year.

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Victory! I think Ry's a little jealous of Carlos and Travis's jumping skillz.

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Goodbye, boys. Thanks for a great weekend. I'll miss you. Come back soon.

4 recs | Comment 76 comments

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just wonderful.

Thanks, um, a million.

I'm here to talk about the past.

by 67MARQUEZ on Sep 22, 2008 1:01 PM PDT   0 recs

Thanks for sharing the photos

Our guys look like little kids when they are out of uniform though. Sometimes I forget how young they really are. Let’s hope most of them make it back next year (well, maybe not ALL of them, but you know what I mean)

The greenmachine

by greenmachine on Sep 22, 2008 1:04 PM PDT   0 recs

Great Stuff.

Love the pics.

"With 16-year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa in tow, Gio Gonzalez improving at Triple-A and lefty Brett Anderson carving up Double-Abatters along with Simmons and Trevor Cahill, Oakland’s pitching depthis officially the envy of baseball." - BaseballAmerica.com

by Syphon on Sep 22, 2008 1:13 PM PDT   0 recs

if the title had "DLD" in it, I'd rec

"The Athletics at Fremont" is really bad

by ArakSOT on Sep 22, 2008 1:16 PM PDT   0 recs

You should change your name to ArakDLD.

Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.

by salb918 on Sep 22, 2008 1:21 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

dldb918

"The Athletics at Fremont" is really bad

by ArakSOT on Sep 22, 2008 1:42 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Fine, fine. You're so needy.

I hope a lowercase “dld” will be sufficient.

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 1:45 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

works for me!

"The Athletics at Fremont" is really bad

by ArakSOT on Sep 22, 2008 1:49 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Nice DLD-iary!

Makes me feel like I was there. I almost think you should just edit it to a focused series “watch other guys bring Ryan’s stuff out.”

Your diary reminds me of a few years ago (might have been an AN day?) when it was also church community day and they had a separate player appearance later in the day. Roy Steele came on the PA after the game and said something like “For those of you interested in hearing about the role of faith in the players’ lives, join Eric Chavez and some of his teammates after the game near the A’s dugout. The rest of you can go meet Mark Ellis at Hooters!”

"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King

by batgirl on Sep 22, 2008 1:57 PM PDT   0 recs

I think "watch other guys bring [player]’s stuff out"

is one of my favorite baseball things. Why? I’m not sure. I think it’s because it is something you don’t really see unless you are at the stadium.

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 22, 2008 2:08 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I love watching it too.

I took pictures practically every time it happened (which means I have plenty of other that I didn’t post). It’s cute, plus I like seeing them without their hats on. :)

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 2:12 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Jesse Levis always brought his own stuff out.

It's just something we do. It's not something we like. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 22, 2008 2:28 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

LOL

I was at that game and I remember that. Hooters > Church Community Day. Mark Ellis knows what’s up ;)

"Ryan [Sweeney] has got the perfect baseball body..." -Mike Sweeney

by Christine on Sep 22, 2008 2:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

We want Wolff

Check out the interview with the A’s owner on the blog "Athletics Nation" and tell me that you would not swap the entire M’s ownership for him in a heartbeat.

(search for “Athletics Nation”)

Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.

by salb918 on Sep 22, 2008 2:04 PM PDT   0 recs

whiteshoes, which section were you in on Friday?

I was in 217, and judging from the pictures, like, five feet away.

by danmerqury on Sep 22, 2008 2:18 PM PDT   0 recs

I was in 216.

It’s been a while since I’ve sat in that area, so it was nice to have a different view of things (and padded seats!).

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 2:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

TV premiere week

So I’m watching “Heroes” tonight and “The Office” on Thursday. Any other good shows starting up this week?

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 3:28 PM PDT   0 recs

Grey's anatomy is Thursday night

There’s a whole list of premieres at this site.

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Sep 22, 2008 4:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

He said "good shows"

not “former good shows.”

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Sep 22, 2008 4:32 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Grey’s Pornography was good?

by MrIncognito on Sep 22, 2008 4:51 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

The threshold for being "good"

is substantially lower if said show features Katherine Heigl.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Sep 22, 2008 7:47 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

(that'd be "she")

I used to watch Grey’s, and then I lost interest. Plus, I like The Office better, and they’re on at the same time, so… yeah.

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 5:04 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

This is premiere week?

Because two of the three shows I watch started weeks ago.

by thejd44 on Sep 23, 2008 4:41 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Your diary depressed me. I'm going to miss my boys.

Is it March yet? Of course, the shuffle on my iPod played all the sad songs, and I felt like running my car into a telephone pole.

Anyway, I noticed Dale and RyRy weren’t at the church community day. This means they must worship the devil.

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 22, 2008 3:42 PM PDT   0 recs

They do look suspiciously like devil worshippers.

I bet Dale sold his soul in exchange for being able to do the splits.

Dwight ran his car into a telephone pole in an episode of The Office. He hit his head, and his bumper fell off, and he ended up with a concussion, which made him act normal for a while. What does this have to do with you? Um, well, probably don’t run your car into a telephone pole. Yeah.

Do you know when exactly they do the rookie hazing thing? When they leave Oakland for the final road trip (in which case it would have already happened), or when they travel to Seattle for the final homestand, or some other time?

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 22, 2008 4:09 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Ryan can't be that sexy on his own.

He sold his soul to look like walking sex.

I stopped watching The Office a long time ago, but I did see that episode. It’s one of my favorites. The van and the water bottle? Hilarious.

Also, when I was younger and stupid, I hit my dad’s truck. As usual, I was running late for work , so I jumped out, threw my bumper in the back seat of my car, and went to work.

Did they have rookie hazing last year? I don’t know. I don’t know about 2006, either. It’s usually on the last road trip of the season. That means, like you said, it has already happened or will happen when they go to Seattle.

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 22, 2008 4:19 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

awww

love the pictures. i must say…greg looked beaaaautiful. as always. Hey, speaking of greg does anyone here think they can somehow give him to me for Christmas? In return I will fill you a stocking with $12,000. It might not be much..but it’s all I have. hehe ;) ;)
anyways loved the diary. nice to hear that gio was a big ol’ scaredy cat.

by ilovegregsmith on Sep 22, 2008 3:46 PM PDT   0 recs

can I have $10?

"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King

by batgirl on Sep 22, 2008 4:21 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

haha

i think i could work something out lol

by ilovegregsmith on Sep 22, 2008 4:27 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

FREE!! to a good home!!

Okay, so today I get LAST month’s A’s Mag in the mail again. This issue has Greg and Dana on the cover.

Who wants it?

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 22, 2008 3:55 PM PDT   0 recs

damn

im too slow lol

by ilovegregsmith on Sep 22, 2008 4:07 PM PDT   0 recs

vote for bill

"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King

by batgirl on Sep 22, 2008 4:26 PM PDT   0 recs

LA doesn't love the Slegna

Who can blame them?

In other baseball news, a guy on trial for killing his girlfriend’s cat is described as “ex-Mets pitcher” in most headlines, although he only pitched in the minors for a year.

And the Seattle Times has an unusually patient reporter covering the Mariners.

Ibanez stared at the ground for several minutes when asked what his team, now at 98 losses with a week to go, has to do to win. “Keep fighting and make it happen,” he said. “It’s a feeling. It’s a mind-set that you’re going to make it happen. And expecting to win when you go out there.”

Hello! Raul! I’m on deadline here! Stop staring at the ground and find one of those index cards with the cliches written on them!

Don't blame me, I voted for Bill King.

by Englishmajor on Sep 22, 2008 4:39 PM PDT   0 recs

Greggles!

That was me :) I’ve called him that a couple of times.

by Kimberly on Sep 22, 2008 5:03 PM PDT   0 recs

lol

I like that. That’s cute. greggles

by ilovegregsmith on Sep 22, 2008 6:44 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

U can has bizness seecrets of cheezburger ppl!

The Pet Holdings websites have achieved cult status with a populist formula: Users with quick wits upload images bearing idiomatic expressions and idiosyncratic grammar, vote for favorites and post comments

Like that never happens anywhere else….

Don't blame me, I voted for Bill King.

by Englishmajor on Sep 23, 2008 12:12 AM PDT   0 recs

When I first started looking through the site, I was thinking, ‘Good Lord, do these people need lives?’

It's just something we do. It's not something we like. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 23, 2008 9:34 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Bruce Jenkins is, generally, somebody who deserves a punce in the nose

Even if the Angels are actually awesome, Jenkins is a tool.

by thejd44 on Sep 23, 2008 4:42 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

And, in fact, they aren't

The Angels of this year have been a moderately above-average team that has been historically lucky.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Sep 23, 2008 6:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

except for Dor-K ...

… who has been (in the clinical sense) hysterically lucky.

It's just something we do. It's not something we like. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 24, 2008 8:53 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Researchers identify regional personality traits across America

States that rank high in openness to new ideas are quite creative, as measured by per-capita patent production. But they’re also high-crime and a bit aloof. Apparently, Californians don’t much like socializing, the research suggests.

The truth comes out!

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 23, 2008 11:06 AM PDT   0 recs

Speaking of California....

In the last A’s mag with the story on Ryan, Dale said Ryan dresses like a Californian. What does that mean? I know what it means, but do people in California dress that much differently than the rest of America? Sure, people in the West probably don’t wear their winter coats as much as someone from Iowa, but really? Does Dale think Midwesterners wear overalls all the time or something?

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 23, 2008 11:55 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

We Californians wear spandex and rollerblades 24/7

It's just something we do. It's not something we like. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 23, 2008 12:13 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Okay, I see the problem.

We live on dirt roads… It’s hard to rollerblade on dirt. And the spandex in summer causes mucho chafing in the nether regions.

But he came back. And there was much rejoicing.

by Jennifer on Sep 23, 2008 12:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

And we have to wear some sort of shoulder harness

to carry our surfboards that we take when we all walk to the beach. And it has to have a pocket to hold our camera phone to take a picture of the movie stars that walk down each and every street.

Or the pocket holds our dope as we walk over to a sit in.

"Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it?"-Steve McCatty

by 5Aces on Sep 23, 2008 12:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't know.

Dale’s bio says he went to high school in SoCal, so maybe he just means that Ryan dresses like him, since he is a Californian (and so obviously must dress like one). This reminds me of a story on the local news here last winter (I think)—we had a bit of a cold snap (meaning it got down to the 30s or something) and the newscaster was talking about people’s winter wear, and said, in a shocked tone of voice, “Some people even wore gloves.” My friends in the Midwest got a kick out of that.

Looking up their bios on the official site: Daric’s middle initial is W. Any guesses on the middle name?

And this is Ryan’s:

Single … graduated from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa … was named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year … was a First-Team All State selection in 2001-02 … posted a 9-0 record with a 0.35 ERA (3 ER/ 60.0 IP) with 82 strikeouts as a junior … committed to San Diego State University before signing with the White Sox.

Huh. I wonder if they have a say in what goes into that bio. Does Ryan want everyone to know he’s single or something?

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 23, 2008 2:04 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

hmm

Many of the guys seem to favor those t’shirts printed with swirly black graphics that sort of look like tribal tattoos.

Wilber
Wilson
William
Waldo
Walter

or, given Daric’s parents, Wylber, Wilsen, Wyllyam, Wahldo, Waltyr

"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King

by batgirl on Sep 23, 2008 3:14 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yea...

Anyone with an Ed Hardy shirt is automatically California…..they are everyone.

Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Sep 23, 2008 4:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

no, that describes his likeliest hit

It's just something we do. It's not something we like. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 23, 2008 3:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Usually every player's bio mentions whether they're "Single" or "Married"

Unless the player specifically requests that that info not be mentioned.

by schmifty on Sep 23, 2008 8:08 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

This is Dale's:
Daric W. Barton…graduated from Marina High School (Huntington Beach, CA) in 2003…hit .372 (29 for 78) with 10 home runs and 27 RBI as a senior.

No relationship status, to use facebook lingo, but we do get the “W.” Maybe he really likes his middle initial.

by whiteshoes40 on Sep 23, 2008 9:35 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Regional clothing differences: I'm speaking from very limited experience...

but I live in the Boston area (ew), and I’d say the most common style here for anyone in their teens/20’s is “preppy”. I came to think of that as the way things are, period. When I went to Oakland/SF in 2006, I looked around and was like… “Hey… not every young person in America is a prep? Ohhh!” So there’s one thing about ‘California style’ I’ve noticed…

On that ‘net Impact segment where the cameras followed Dale, Ryan and Travis around Japan, they all dressed exactly the same (Ed Hardy tees and… some other brand like that, and expensive-looking jeans). Sort of the Douchey Faux-Toughguy LA Club Rat look that you’d see on thedirty.com. So Ryan sure fit in with the West Coast boys when it came to style.

by schmifty on Sep 23, 2008 8:18 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

PS, I CAN'T not mention this:

From the A’s official site, back in June:

Upon entering the A’s clubhouse in his usual Western attire, Saturday starter Greg Smith was greeted by fellow pitcher Dana Eveland, who jokingly asked the righty, “Are the cowboy boots good luck? Is that what it is?” Smith could only smile before Eveland finally asked, “Am I overanalyzing you too much?”

Everyone, in unison: “Awww! GREGGLES!!!”

by schmifty on Sep 23, 2008 8:22 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I 2nd that!

Awwww! GREGGLES!!!!!

by ilovegregsmith on Sep 23, 2008 8:58 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

the righty?

Overqualified to be an A's fan.

by andeux on Sep 24, 2008 10:31 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs