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Soap – It’s necessary but what is it?

1151By: Billy BeerSlugger

So I’m taking a shower this morning and I’m in there just suds’n it up with my Irish Spring soap bar and it kind of dawns on me that I’m not really sure how soap works.  Yea I know it supposed to get you clean but how and why?

Hopefully you’re taking a shower at least once a day for hygiene purposes but maybe you have run into the same questions I have about soap.

I did some research and here goes my best explanation of the phenomenon known as soap:

Soap is made up of  sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids which are gotten when combining common oils or fats with a strong alkaline solution (usually lye) in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol.  Glycerol is a substance found in most bar soaps I’m guessing because it is in my Irish Spring.

Soap is an excellent cleanser because of its ability to act as an emulsifying agent. An emulsifier is capable of dispersing one liquid into another immiscible liquid. This means that while oil (which attracts dirt) doesn’t naturally mix with water, soap can suspend oil/dirt in such a way that it can be removed.

Grease and oil are nonpolar and insoluble in water. When soap and soiling oils are mixed, the nonpolar hydrocarbon portion of the micelles break up the nonpolar oil molecules. A different type of micelle then forms, with nonpolar soiling molecules in the center. Thus, grease and oil and the ‘dirt’ attached to them are caught inside the micelle and can be rinsed away. Basically you can get more ball sweat bacteria and facial grease off of you with soap than you can with regular water, which is a good thing.

The earliest users of soap date back to around 2800 BC in Ancient Babylon.  There was a found that was recipe written on a clay tablet.

The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. Egyptian documents mention that a soap-like substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving.

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Saved By The Bell Reunion Show?

By: Billy BeerSlugger

While Jimmy Fallon and his Late Night show is tryig to get a reunion together for Saved by the Bell on his show, Tiffany Amber Theissen has pretty much declined the invitation.

Now I know a ton of people will be enamored with this reunion if it actually happens but I could really give a shit less.  Though one thing I just re-realized is that Tiffany Amber Theissen is still fucking hot.

Here’s her take on why she can’t make the reunion show.

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Steroid Overload

espnBy: Bones

Today, it was leaked to the media that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are on the list of roughly 100 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003, along with the previously reported Sammy Sosa, A-Rod, Bonds, etc etc. All the sudden it’s like my life and my TV have been rewound to 2 months ago, 5 months ago, a year ago, 4 years ago. I am so sick of having my blissful and endless sports watching interrupted by this bullshit every few months. For the next week I have to watch ESPN trot out a long line of anchors, commentators, and athletes screaming down at us from way up on their high horse about how the game has been disgraced, blah blah blah….over and over. Gammons, Phillips, Kurkjian, Kruk, Player X…rinse, and repeat. How does this affect their Hall of Fame chances? Will you vote for him? Polls, followups, E:60 and Outside the Lines with Bob Ley. Same questions, same answers, over and over. It’s like a bad nightmare that keeps repeating once you fall back asleep. Finally, you aren’t scared anymore, you are just bored. I am not surprised anymore, nor do I care in the least little bit. I do not fucking care. At all.

All I care about is that I am forced to listen to a multi-media blitz of bullshit. It’s making my favorite channel unwatchable, and it pisses me off. The thing that really gets me is that someone is leaking this information strategically; every couple of months new names come out that should not be out, as the ‘list’ is in the hands of the FBI and supposedly is on double top secret probation. Except that someone who has access to the list is doling out one or two names at a time. Whoever it is obviously is very smart, and and very vindictive. They know that the best way to hurt MLB and each player on the list is to give them the slow drip of Chinese water torture every few months. Someone didn’t happen across the list in Stu Scott’s trash can, and it’s not written on bathroom stall wall- otherwise all the names would be out, and whoever it is hasn’t been fired or caught, or left a trail, or anything. Different sources get the scoop each time, so that tells me that they don’t even know who is leaking the information to them.

The most amazing thing is that the people who are getting outed are the ones who have most recently came out and said something to the effect that they didn’t do ‘roids, or that people should be punished who did do them, etc. Sosa, Ramirez, Papi, ARod, Bonds…all of them denied it, and this guy is obviously trying to make them look silly. It makes you wonder whether the next bomb will be Pujols or Ichiro. But really, I don’t think I am the only one who is sick of it, or has stopped caring who cheated and who didn’t. You can’t keep an entire generation out of the HOF. There was the live ball era, the dead ball era, and now there’s the steroid era, and stats and records fluctuated as such each time. I think its pretty dumb that record holders, players with great careers steroids or not, are not in or may never get in. The records stand as far as MLB is concerned, so the voters should recognize those who set them.

Ugh. I am tired of writing about this, or thinking about it, or watching it on TV. Why doesn’t ESPN come out with an ESPNLegal channel for all this shit? Keep the games separate from everything else- ‘roids, trials, Vick, Burress, and Brett fucking Favre. See which one has the higher ratings. I bet I know which one

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Anonymous doesn’t mean Anonymous anymore.

steroids-needlesBy: Billy BeerSlugger

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz names were just released as persons who tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs back in 2003.  SHOCKER!  However, this was an anonymous test and I’m not sure how anonymous test results can be traced back to a person.  Apparently this is the same anonymous testing that led to the outing of A-Rod as a doper.  There are 100 names on the list and I’m not sure how many names have gotten out or how they were leaked but if I were an MLB player and i submitted to an anonymous drug test by my employer then was subjected to scrutiny about said drug test I would be a little pissed off.  “Hey XYZ player we’re doing random drug tests and we’d like you to submit to one and no one will ever know the results.  We just want to see the extent of players using PED’s as a whole.”.  Well that shit got out. Someone’s responsible and needs to be held accountable.  I think the public is pretty tired of hearing that this star or that slugger was on roids, it’s been covered, reported, been to Congress and it’s abundantly clear that the MLB has had a problem with steroids and such.

If there’s 100 names on the list, either release all 100 at the same time or release none (like you told the players that you would). Don’t leak out 2 or 3 names every two months to drum up ratings for sports news so we can go over the steroid issue again…. and again….. and again.  I’m don’t pretend to be an expert on the situation but if the players were told the results were anonymous and now names are being attached to those anonymous results then the players union should sue the MLB. Do what you say and say what you mean.

The MLB had no problem making billions of dollars during the steroid era and looking the other way, now the MLB is vilifying players that it once championed in an atmosphere that it created or allowed to happen.  Where is the accountability of ownership for letting the problem spiral out of control?  Where are owners and GM’s in front of Congress testifying?  Where is the scrutiny upon the MLB labor agreements during the steroid era for not putting in steroid testing when the NFL and NBA had them.

This isn’t just the players’ fault and in a time where players are being disected for saying one thing and doing another, where is the outrage over the MLB allowing names to be leaked from an anonymous test.

Get past the “Who did steroids/hgh” question and ask the more important question, “Why was it allowed to happen and why wasn’t anyone in the MLB willing to stop it?”.

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Cliff Lee traded to the Philadelphia Phillies

leeSports with Bob McFlurry:

A source within the Philadelphia Phillies organization has just told me that the Phillies will acquire Cleveland Indians Pitcher and 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee and a right handed bat for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Jason Knapp.

The move gives the Phils two top line starters along with a streaking Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer without giving up J.A. Happ and putting to bed the uncertainty at the 5th starter position occupied by Rodrigo Lopez and Antionio Bastardo since Brett Myers went down with a hip injury.

The move does not stop their talks with the Blue jays for Roy Halladay since they still have J.A. Happ and Tommy John surgery wunderkind Kyle Drabek, however, the deal seemsa lot less likely now that the Phils have somewhat depleted their farm system.

Is this the move the Phils needed to make to give themselves a shot at defensing their World Series title?  Only time will tell but adding a Cy Young award and 20+ game winner from last year certainly can’t hurt at this point.

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Jim Johnson: The Gentleman Blitzer

Bob McFlurry with Sports:

Jim Johnson and Andy Reid came to Philadelphia together in 1999 and began a partnership which would last for the next 10 years.  10 years that included 5 NFC Championships, a Super Bowl appearance and as arguably as dominant a defense in the league for that time period. 2nd in sacks and 5th in scoring defense and sending 25 plus defensive players to the Pro Bowl.

What’s lost in the Eagles decade of success is exactly what we lost yesterday, Jim Johnson.  Yes Jim got some credit for being a great and innovative defensive coordinator but Andy Reid as Head Coach would get most of the credit.  Andy Reid intimated yesterday in the news conference announcing Johnson’s death that Jim was as much a part of the success of the Eagles as anyone else in the organization.  I may go one step further and say he was more important than Andy Reid to the Eagles.

In the early part of the 2000’s, the Eagles defense (along with exceptional Field Goal % from David Akers) kept them in and won them many games.  Guys like Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Brian Dawkins, Hugh Douglas and Jerimiah Trotter were more responsible for W’s than the offense (sorry D-Nabb).  Having the 5th best scoring defense in the league for the decade can hide a lot of inconsistencies on offense and there were inconsistencies early on (though not a lot of talent besides McNabb and Staley on the Offensive side of the ball). Point being that the Eagles won and they won ugly early on in Johnson’s tenure.

A turnover on the defensive side in 2003 when he lost middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and in 2004 when Bobby Taylor, and Troy Vincent were replaced and Jim Johnson didn’t lose a beat, going to the NFC championship and Super Bowl those seasons. Though after Trotter left the defensive run stopping was somewhat suspect with Barry Gardner, Levon Kirkland and undersized Mark Simenau.

He chose to stay in Philadelphia as one of the highest paid coordinators in the league instead of becoming a head coach where he consistently made offenses look confused and bewildered from pressure.  A bend-don’t break philosophy that limited bug plays from opponents and while the defense would occasionally misfire, Johnson’s defenses speak for themselves.   Brian Dawkins called him tailor-made to coach in Philadelphia and many other players and coaches called him instrumental in their careers.

A defensive mind that should probably be more beloved in Philadelphia than Buddy Ryan.  A guy that carried himself as a gentleman and treated his players as men and not employees.  A guy who drew up blitzes on cocktail napkins at hotel bars.  A guy who got more out of his players than they knew they had.  A guy that has a coaching tree that will someday rival Bill Walsh it seems and from what I’ve gathered one of the finer human beings on the planet for 68 or so years.

For a working class town Jim Johnson is your working class hero on the sidelines and someone not soon forgotten.

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Is CBS Sports peddling HGH?

By: Billy BeerSluggerhgh

I was checking my fantasy baseball team last night and saw an advertisement from ARALifestyle.com placed on one of my players pages. Now never mind the fact that I can’t stand having advertisements on a fantasy baseball site that I already pay to use, but given the backlash against HGH, Steroids and other performing enhancing drugs doesn’t CBS Sports have a moral obligation to monitor what kind of advertisements they are displaying on their website?

I mean isn’t an advertisement telling you to “Revitalize your health with human growth hormone.” and “New development builds muscle legally.” kind of the antithesis of what CBS Sports should stand for? Isn’t it hypocritical for CBS Sports to report on athletes getting suspended for using PED’s and then turn around and sell them indirectly on their website?

I think so.

note: this image is a screenshot and has not been modified in any way besides circling in red the content I wanted to spotlight.

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Ithaca Beer Co: Apricot Wheat

brews_apricotBy: Billy BeerSlugger

I had this beer yesterday during brunch.  I’m not particularly fond of Wheat beers but this was a nice compliment to my Eggs Benedict at the lovely St. Stephen’s Green.

You can definitely taste the Apricot, it’s a very fruity tasting beer, not one I would grab a case of but a tasty beer when paired with the right food.

From the website:

Our easy drinking wheat beer is light in color and body … perfect for those looking for a lighter taste. The combination of wheat and barley give our Apricot Wheat a different malt character than any of our other ales. The hint of apricot gives this beer a fruity finish, making it a fun beer to drink.

Currently available in 12 ounce bottles and draft.

Original Gravity 12.P (1.048 SG)
Alcohol Content 4.9%
Malt 2-Row, White Wheat, Acidulated malt
Hops Cascade
Other Natural Apricot Flavor
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A Baseball game? For a First Date? You must be kidding.

By: Billy BeerSlugger

When did it become en vouge to take a girl as a date to a Phillies game?  If this was 2003 and you asked a girl to go to the Phillies game with you instead of the old dinner/drinks/movie routine the girl would probably look at you like you’re out of your mind.  Kind of like getting your wife a bowling ball for her birthday.

I was perusing a dating website today while nursing a pretty bad hangover and every other girl listed a Phillies game as some place they would like to go to on a first date.  I think up until about a two years ago girls viewed baseball as extremely boring and one of the last places they would want to be on a hot summer night would be a baseball stadium.

So what happened? The Phillies win the World Series and all of a sudden a Phillies game becomes a preferred place for a date?  I’ll admit it’s a lot more exciting when the Phils are winning instead of toiling in the basement but why does that factor into a woman’s decision to now want to go to a baseball game?  I don’t get it.

Now I know that some girls really do like to go to ballgame’s no matter what place the phils are in but it’s few and far between.    I think you may have seen this same phenomenon in the early 2000’s when the Sixers were competitive.  Girls wanted to go to Sixers game to see Allen Iverson and the Philles do have some stars on their team now that women want to go out and see.  But ask a girl to go to a Sixers game now and she may think you’re crazy.

Am I the only one who’s noticed this?