As I'll blog tomorrow, Sabo had a blast at Dodger Stadium Saturday night. However, he lifted his leg up there and peed blood again.

Just like in March, he was his usual happy and active self, and the visible blood disappeared the next day. I called his vet, and Dr Annette said bring him on in for an x-ray to make sure he didn't have any bladder stones. Which I did yesterday morning. This was Sabo's 4th vet visit this year, and he hasn't been a happy camper to say the least the previous three times. As recommended by Dr Annette, I gave him ¼ doggy Alprazolam (which I mistakenly called Xanax before) an hour before our visit. At my suggestion, I personally put the cute little blue muzzle on him when I dropped him off.

How did Sabo do? Medically fine, his x-ray was clear, and he didn't need any antibiotics this time. Dr Annette said if it happens a third time, she'd like to take a sample from the bladder... which she said is like getting a shot for Sabo.

As for being handled, well... Sabo wasn't a happy camper this time either. In fact, when I returned to pick him up, they asked me to go in back and personally take him out of the kennel. Then to personally take the cute little blue muzzle off. They felt he was stressed, and had had enough of handling him themselves.

Besides the wrong color pee, Sabo & me had a great time on our Dodgers Stadium trip. This was our third annual trip to Sabo's 'enemy territory'. Since I never got around to wrapping last year's trip... this is a double-wrapper.

The drive up to LA is always part of the adventure. These games were all on Saturday. On 2015-6-20 we left early, but there was some cluster-screw on the freeways, and it took us all day to get there. On 2016-7-9 we again left early, and there was almost no traffic that day. We stopped at Oceanside harbor for a nice hike on the way up... to further Sabo's still mysterious Third Quest. Still, we got to Dodger Stadium almost two hours before the parking lot opened, and had to cruise around LA for a while to kill time. Traffic was pretty rough on 2017-5-20, but that didn't factor into the game, as we had driven up to The Valley on unrelated business earlier that day.

All three days were hot. In 2015 the extreme heat, combined with the screwy 4:15 start time, had me literally dazed by the 8th, and I had to call it quits. Last season it wasn't near as hot, but it was another screwy 4:15 start, and the game that day was (only) like a sauna. This year it was just breaking triple digits during the day, but it was a night game, and heat wasn't an issue with the 7:10 start.

All three seasons the dog section was the all-you-can-eat RF bleacher sun section. All three seasons I didn't have any appetite because of the heat. This year I literally ate nothing. Have I mentioned I'm not a fan of the all-you-can-eat section? Sabo, however, had no such problems, and has enjoyed a Dodger Dog or two every year.

Sabo always gets a lot of attention because of his good looks... and also away from Petco/Peoria because of his "wrong team" Padres gear. Last season at Dodgers Stadium he got an especial lot of attention because his Padres were the away team. The young hottie official photographer was going down the line, filming all the dogs, but made a point of avoiding Sabo because of his gear. Later, after I teased her with Sabo's stadium visiting history, and she came over and gave Sabo a whole interview... which wasn't used AFAIK. All three seasons we've done the pet parade around the warning track.

This season, unlike the last two, we got a goody bag instead of there being different vendors set up. After having so much fun joining us in 2015, our Uncle B has made it a point to attend and to buy Sabo's dog tix the next two years... so these games don't go against Sabo's tab.


In SDDC action, Sabo saw the Marlins shock and knock the Dodgers out of first. The D'backs eliminated the White Sox. The Dodgers remain the All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite even after the loss Sabo attended. However, that loss also put the Reds into first place, and un-hung the dreaded '~0' from the Phillies. A Phillies win tomorrow would knock the Reds back out of first. A Reds win would re-hang the Phillies with the dreaded '~0'.

The first place Reds extended their lead. However, the Dodgers (3-1) remain the All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite at 15%. The Phillies were rehung with the dreaded '~0'. Coming up: the Tigers make their dog season debut, and the newly un-hung Pirates need a win not to be re-hung.

The Mighty world champion Cubs path to the SDDC title runs through the Barkyard this week. The feature game is the Memorial day starter to the three game series. A Cubs sweep would catapult them into first, make them the new favorite at ~31%, and eliminate the defending champion Rangers (2-2), A's (0-1), zombie Indians (0-1), Angels organization, Orioles, and my Mighty Red Sox. Merely winning 2/3 would strip the Cubs of their Mighty status, and half their win projection. The loser of the series will be hung with the dreaded '~0'.

Can you believe it... it's Sabo & my 4th Memorial Day Together !!!1! Unlike the last three years, where Sabo & me spent several days at several beaches, and several nights at the Beach Shack, this year we're only making it a SBD™ day trip to Missile Beach.

This is more than a symbolic demonstration of how much my life has moved on from the beach starting in 2009 and the post Missile era. But, we'll still celebrate the symbolic start to the summer season based out of the Beach Shack. There'll be some beach time for Sabo before 9am, and a swim (actually a good hike with our paws in the sand) along the bayside after 6pm. And... as it's also the start of BBQ season, maybe Sabo can work his magic and get me invited to a BBQ in between times. If not... there's plenty of bars with dog friendly patios. However, no Midnight Missile Recognisance because of the extra enforcement during the holiday, and we'll leave right before the fireworks which Sabo doesn't care for at all.

Sabo's Memorial Day at Missile Beach went as planned. He got some (legal on leash) beach time. We swam from under the Catamaran pier, northwest around the bay, under the footbridge twice as we hit the tide just right, over to Fanuel Park. This means Sabo has now swam the entire west side of Mission Bay... from the nature preserve to the north jetty. Swimming here, of course, referring to walking with our paws in the sand. We left the beach right before the nightly fireworks. As always, Sabo had a blast at the beach.

As for finding a BBQ... well, I was really struck by just how much nobody goes to the beach anymore. This day used to be huge. Just driving was a disaster, forget parking. This year: no traffic and I parked right on the street right next to the Beach Shack. You'd be hard pressed to distinguish Memorial Day from any random Monday, never mind a Saturday or Sunday. The bars weren't busy either... there was exactly zero big holiday ~ start of summer season vibe.

This, combined with the fact that Saskas isn't Saska's anymore, everything else has turned over, and M & C, the only peeps I know from the end of The Missile era, were out of town... well, I made me a little, OK quite a bit, melancholy for those daze (and that dog) that we'll never ever see the likes of again.


It wasn't quite, but came very close, to being a dreaded 'Broken Arrow'. The mechanics are an ongoing issue, so I'll hold off on the details. Suffice to say, once again, Sabo has managed to do the impossible, and has figured out a way to somehow go through the back fence. I felt he was gone, called for him, and had that heart dropping feeling finding out he was indeed gone.

However, I had reason to believe he was around the block playing in traffic... which when I went there directly I found he was in fact running around in the middle of that street. So, as I actually knew where he was, it wasn't actually a Broken Arrow.

Thankfully there wasn't any traffic. Instead, there was a couple whose car was parked, and a passing child. All three Good Samaritans were hopelessly trying to catch what is just about the fastest dog in the world. When I got there and called for Sabo, he ran directly to me... then at the last moment veered off and jumped in the open door of those good folks' car.

Whew !!!1! Gotta that Sabo !!!1!

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New Series: Pointless League, Sabo Story, Missile Musing, and a Flower series TBN.

The new Pointless League series about Sabo managing my FBB team has already made it's debut. When convenient, it will be combined with SDDC or All Star-Sabo Metrics posts. Taunting/Yapping Rights are at stake.

Since I failed miserably to achieve my goal last winter to clear the backlog of 'wrap' posts... I'm going to punt, and simply do away with wrap posts entirely. Instead, I'll work the 'wrap's in with day-to-day Sabo news in the new series: 'Sabo Story'. FYI: Vol I retroactively covers general Sabo news posts in 2014, Vol II covers 2015, Vol III covers 2016, and Vol IV covers 2017 before today.

Stories about The Missile and Flower will now be part of the soon-to-debut 'Missile Musing' and the yet to be named Flower series. Missile Musings will start out with some actual real new Missile news from the recent 20th anny Missile Day back on the 17th !!!1!

Rank: Alexa #6367 (in US, #15495 overall), last post #1, replies #10 (#18 overall), views #8 (#12 overall w/65028), Sabo in my #1.
Previous

The Royals moved into undisputed 2nd place, the Pirates were rehung with the dreaded '~0', and the D'backs are now tied with the Dodgers (3-1) as All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite. None of those were the big news however. In a scenario I didn't even bother blogging, Sabo's Padres swept the world champion Cubs. This not only stripped the Cubs of their 'Mighty' status... it eliminated them from the SDDC race.


Next up: the Rockies make their second visit to the Barkyard. They'll need to win the series to avoid the dreaded '~0'. The feature game is the Marlins "Bark at the Park". A D'backs win in Miami would make them sole favorite at ~19%. A Marlins win would knock the D'backs down to ~4th favorite at ~10%.

OK, there was a hole in the fence. The story begins back before that Unfortunate Racoon visited in March. At that time the backyard behind us was cleaned out. The entire huge collection of very rarely used child gear vanished. The house had gotten a new resident owner. Over Memorial Day weekend he started attaching a 48" high wooden fence to the existing 30" chain-link fence just on his side of that backline.

To review, just on our side of that backline is a ~36" cinder block retaining wall. The top of that retaining wall, which is at the grade of the neighbors' yard, forms the ~10 inch wide "Fourth Terrace". On our side this new solid fence will effectively be ~7' high, with that ~10" ledge ~3' up.

Earlier on Memorial Day Sabo had taken a suspiciously long time responding to my call, then popped out behind the low hanging tree on the third terrace. I inspected the fence, but it wasn't obvious that there was a breach. However, when he went briefly missing later, it was obvious there had to be a breach somewhere up there.

So... for this last week Sabo had lost his general Sabotat privileges. It was duty walks out front, and supervised visits out back, only. The new neighbor has needed to work from our side to install some brackets, so I've been keeping Sabo inside for that reason too.

He's been making glacier like progress. To be fair, it's obviously an after work project for him... to be honest, he obviously doesn't make a living with his hands. At dusk yesterday, he finally finished installing his brackets, and started in on putting the actual fence boards up. This dawn, I did an inspection. It turns out, that as the stretch of fence behind the low hanging tree is inaccessible to human sized creatures, he had cut a small hole in the existing chain link fence to attach a bracket. Now that the wooden fence boards have been installed in this area... the Sabotat is once again secured.


Sabo has now regained his general Sabotat privileges !!!1! However, if it's not one thing for Sabo, it's another. Starting tonight, Sabo has lost his overnight burrowing privileges

The three previous years Sabo has rocked & rolled & ran a marathon. Last season the Rock&Roll Marathon had a new course. The highlight was the extension of the Rare Pawage milage on CA-163 all the way from Friars Rd on into downtown. Dogs aren't allowed to run the official course, so Sabo has his own course.

Last year he 'ran' it backwards. We starting at the same time as the elite runners at 6:15am... adjacent to the official finish line (the actual finish area is secured), and then passed the wheelchair competitors, and then the runner elite, going the other way on the freeway. Off the freeway we zigged east while the slow poke runners were zagging onto the freeway from the west, and then 'ran' over to visit a new dog park for us: Civitas Park dog run. From there we took a 'cab' back to the Sabotat. That evening, we took that 'cab' to Nate's Point dog run in Balboa Park. From there we 'ran' through the park over to the long abandoned starting line at 6th & Quince. We finished at 10:15pm... 16 hours total, Sabo's worst time ever.

To tell the truth, I was thinking of skipping the marathon this year. The cool thing about it is that the streets are mainly blocked, and you can walk the freeway. The bands aren't really a draw... they aren't national acts, and a 'street music faire' ambiance isn't generated. The enormous downside to the marathon are those damn runners. I've never consistently met a more spoiled, obnoxious, and rude buncha a-holes. Luckily they keep moving.

However, this year was going to be different. This year, for the first time, they're having an official Rock&Role Marathon Dog Walk. A reasonable 1.6 miles, you get an official "bib", and the best part... unlike the $$$$ they gouge from those running a-holes, it's free.

Alas, this was earlier today. They only accepted 100 dogs, and it had "sold out" faster than Sabo can run. I took Sabo back to Civitas Park dog run instead. So, for the R&R Marathon Dog Walk... it's a wait 'till next year !!!1!

Not only will Sabo be attending his 25th ball game tomorrow... the real big day event is Sabo making big leaps forward on his Multi-Modal Quest. Tomorrow, Sabo will be taking his first non-tourist train ride, his first subway ride, and his first ride on the luser cruiser (bus). Our destination is LA's iconic city hall (below).

On the way up it's car to Oceanside, then train/bus/walk to San Manuel Stadium. After the 66ers game, its walk/bus/train/subway to LA's Civic Center. On the way back to the Sabotat, we're going to walk back in time to Olvera St, where El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula was established back in 1781. Then it's over to LA Union Station to catch our train back to Oceanside.


There are three SDDC games over the next three days. The feature game is the Class A Visalia Rawhide (D'backs) @Inland Empire 66ers (Angels). This will be Sabo's 4th 66er game, and his third annual visit to San Manuel Stadium. The novelty of this game, and a first for both of us, is that it's a morning game. First pitch is at 10:30am pdt. San Bernardino is on a prime meridian, so that's 2:30 before "high noon" standard time. This effectively turns the stadium backwards, as the sun will be shining in at the batters from RF.

A win by the first place Reds would hang the dreaded '~0' on the Cardinals. It would also make them All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite. A Cardinals win puts the Royals (2-0 7%) into first, and keeps the Dodgers (3-1 16%) as favorite. A Brewers win hangs the dreaded '~0' on the Giants. A Rawhide win eliminates the Angel's organization. A 66ers win triggers the first mass extinction event of the season... as it would eliminate the defending champion Rangers (2-2), A's (0-1), zombie Indians (0-1), Orioles, and my Mighty Red Sox.

Our planned train trip extravaganza to LA on Monday had to be cancelled because Sabo wouldn't get in the new pet carrier I had purchased. I was very disappointed with Sabo. I was really, really looking forward to the three train rides, and the two planned layovers, San Manuel Stadium & Olvera St, fit the train schedules like magic. Initially, I figured we'd just call the whole trip off.

However, that morning I thought to myself: "Self, Sabo's a good guy. If he doesn't wanna get in the bag, that's something we need to work on together. He's not being bad. Self...", I thought to myself, "there's no reason to punish Sabo, or punish your own selfness for that matter". So... I 'stuffed' Sabo into the minvan, and off we went to San Bernardino (but not downtown LA).

The game was a rare morning game: first pitch was at 10:34am.

It was strange to see the player's shadows going in the wrong direction. The sun was high enough in the sky that it wasn't a "sun field"... for the catcher. The rest of the team had their back to the sun. Which makes sense as, on a prime meridian, 10:34am daylight time is the same angle as 3:26pm, which is too early for a "sun field" situation. If they had started the game at 8:30am, there would have been a "sun field" situation. As for the hitters looking into the sun? Well, it seemed to blind the 66ers, who were held to one run on four hits. OTOH, the Rawhide pounded the ball, and scored nine runs. Conclusion: lol sample size of one.

Who the heck goes to MiLB games on Monday morning?

Well certainly not all the 1213 paid attendance. A first pitch, I counted 61 casual fans in the fixed seats, two on the lawns, about 10 in only occupied luxury box, and about 100 children and 10 guardians in various groups... ~183 total. Oh yeah... and exactly two dogs. What were the demographics? Well, 60% were children; 17% of the peeps, and 50% of the dogs, were obviously "with the team". That would include the 20 clustered around the 66ers dugout, the ~10 in what had to be the team luxury box, and the very hot, and very nice, 20-ish mistress of the other little dog... whom we had met here last season. And at least 3% of the peeps, and 50% of the dogs, were "stadium geeks", including two dudes from San Francisco who were also going to the Dodgers game that night, and two dudes also from San Diego who had been to all the California League stadiums.


The other dog, and it's mistress, stayed in back of the 66ers dugout. That meant for the first half of the game, Sabo & me had the entire LF lawn section to ourselves. I christened this area "Sabo Field" (SF, above), and let Sabo run leash free... just calling him back when he went to explore the pavilion area in front of me. The entire expanse behind me was well fenced in, so I just let Sabo roam back there at his pleasure. The second half of the game, about a dozen folks left the fixed seats and joined us. In addition to saying "hi" to Sabo, it had gotten hot enough by then. Not only did we have the only real shade under the trees, there was also a nice breeze only found down the LF line.

Oh yeah... something else happened too. For the first time in my life, after attending 100s of games, I finally got a baseball off the field !!!1! Then, I got another !!!1! They were both foul balls, which bounced a few times, then rolled to a stop 10-15 feet in front of me. There wasn't anyone anywhere near me... including Sabo who was out of sight exploring deep LF both times. The first was by Rawhide C #16 Matt Jones, the second by Rawhide 2B #24 Henry Castillo. Later, after the folks had joined us, I had no chance at the third ball fouled off into SF, or the HR ball hit by Rawhide RF #13 Jason Morozowski in the 8th.

Oh yeah... something else happened for Sabo too. One of the nice folks who joined us left an entire order of french fries for Sabo. Sabo ate about half of the basket, then lost interest, and just wandered off.

We both had a blast. Sabo got an off-leash baseball game, and all he could eat french fries. I got two official California League game used baseballs. We both got a rare morning ballgame experience. The freeway gods even blessed us, as there was zero traffic going up, and lighter than usual coming back. In fact, last out was at 1:15pm... and, we were back at the Sabotat earlier than if we had went to a 12:40pm start @Petco. Also, I saved money... as since Sabo refused to get in the bag, it's going on his tab for the gas ($27), and the parking ($5).


The are seven dog games over the next four days. The 1st place Reds won yesterday, and are now the All-Star Sabo-Metric favorites. They'll need to win @Barkyard next Monday to keep those distinctions. The 2nd place place Royals start a three game series @Barkyard tomorrow. A sweep would gain them at least a share of first, make them the new favorites at 30+%, and mass extinct eight teams: the Marlins (4-2), Rangers, A's (0-1), zombie Indians (0-1), Rays (0-1), Card's, Orioles, and my Mighty Red Sox. A Padres series win would hang the Royals with the dreaded '~0'.

The 5th place Brewers won the first ever dog game @Miller Field on Tuesday. They again play again in front of the dogs Sunday @Chase Field. The 9th place Nationals host the defending champion Rangers on Saturday. Sabo saw the Visalia Rawhide get a win for 10th place D'backs organization on Monday. The 12th place Rangers need to win to avoid elimination. Sabo's 13th place Padres need two wins to avoid the dreaded '~0'. The 14th place Giants were hung with the dreaded '~0' on Tuesday. They host the Twins on Sunday. Sabo saw the Inland Empire 66ers lose on Monday, which eliminate the 16th place Angels organization. The 21st place Card's were hung with the dreaded '~0' yesterday. The Twins are making their dog season debut. They'll need to win to avoid the dreaded '~0', and maybe even elimination.

Today Sabo will be stopping off in Oceanside to further his still mysterious Third Quest. Then we'll be continuing on to The Hanger in Lancaster, to see Sabo's Padres Lake Elsinore Storm take on the Rockies's High A Jethawks*. This quest was proclaimed on our first Lancaster trip back on 2016-6-7. I promise, after more than a year, this quest will finally be properly announced when today's game is wrapped.


In SDDC news, the Reds loss yesterday moved the Astros (1-0 9%) and Mariners (1-0 6%) into 1st place by percentage points. The D'backs, who won Sunday, are now the All-Star Sabo-Metric favorites. The Twins loss hung them with the dreaded '~0'. And in the big news... Sabo received his invite to his Padres "Dog Days of Summer" on the 29th vs the Braves.

Today is a organization split dog-done doubleheader, as the Rockies are playing in Pittsburgh, Sabo's Padres are in the Barkyard, and in the feature game... Sabo will be attending their respective High-A affiliates game. Tomorrow the Reds close out their visit to the Barkyard, and we enter the longest dog game hiatus in the MLB season.

Going into this de facto All-Star Break of the seven month long dog game season... if the Reds win two, they'll once again be favorites a ~23%. The Rockies organization needs a win today to avoid the dreaded '~0'. Sabo's Padres organization needs two wins today or tomorrow to avoid the same.


* Last season I incorrectly blogged that Lancaster was an Astros affiliate, while Modesto was a Rockies affiliate. I had that backwards. Last years SDDC final standings should be Isotopes(rc) 6-3 and Nuts(as) 1-3.

That's a lot to blog all at once. So... I'll just briefly explain Sabo's heretofore mysterious quest. I'll let Good Nurse Sabo, who should be along shortly, explain this serious car wreck Sabo was in. Sabo's third quest, which was officially proclaimed 2016-6-7, is his Coast Quest. This quest has for parts or 'Grails': Sabo quests to (1) surf, and (2) cruise, the coast between Marin County and Mexico. He quests to (3) swim, and (4) hike, the coast between Orange County and Mexico.


This trip was a part of Sabo Three Day™er: Sabo's Surfari IV. We started out near dawn, ~6am, and headed up I-5 to San Clemente. From there we took the 'coast route', the closest drivable through route to the shore, on up the OC coast, through Long Beach, and around the Palos Verde Peninsula. We stopped so Sabo could 'surf' (which for Sabo means frolic at a leash free beach) Huntington Dog Beach, Rosie's Beach in the non-port side of Long Beach, and at Miramar Park on the Torrance|Redondo Beach border. Here Sabo's Coast Quest was officially proclaimed. From there we headed inland, and after a stop to visit our Uncle B (aka The Nuncle) in Pacoima we arrived at The Hanger... late. I've previously blogged that game and my after game poker Diamond Jim's. link. We got back to the Sabotat near dawn, ~6am.


We left much later, ~noon. We made three stops: we prepositioned the minvan to PB (to start a now aborted series of hikes), we had a nice ~mile hike at Oceanside Harbor (~100yds of which furthered Sabo's Coast Quest), and we thoroughly explored Whitsett Athletic Park in LA's San Fernando Valley. We got to the Hanger by first pitch... but again too late for the pregame pet parade. As a change of pace, we came back via CA-138 to I-15. New milage for Sabo, albeit at night.

All the way up, I was thinking just how damn far away Lancaster is. The roundtrip is further than the one way to Vegas or Phoenix. So that's pretty much a whole road trip's worth of driving for only a single MiLB ballgame. Last season we were out-and-about for a long 24 hours. This season, we had *planned* to be out-and-about a more reasonable, but still long, 13 hours. Of course, the car being wrecked in Corona delayed as a bit.

All and all, I might have to re-think these Jethawk single day trips going forward.


As for the yesterday's game itself, Sabo had a blast like always... which makes all the driving pay off. This year, we didn't show up too late to pay, so it was $5 parking, and $10 for a fixed seat (they don't sell lawn). Sabo was free. There were hardly any people, certainly nowhere near the 1321 paid attendance. But... there were a whole lotta dogs. It seemed like everyone had a dog. The lack of a crowd made it effectively all GA (except section #111). We watched the first half of the game in the 3rd base beer garden (which had Sabo's Padres on tv), and the second half right behind the Storm dugout. There was a "no standing on top of the dugout" sign... but it didn't say anything about dogs. They have a safety net, so I let Sabo loose to explore the whole top of that dugout for the end of the game.

After this SDDC 'All-Star' hiatus, the SDDC season resumes with a big bang. The leadoff, and feature, and Sabo's Petco game this season... is the Tigers in the Barkyard on Friday 6-23.

There are 10 games in the six days following the hiatus. The favorite D'backs need to sweep two to remain sole favorite. The Royals become favorite with a win and a D'backs loss. OTOH, to avoid the dreaded '~0' the Tigers need to sweep four, the Braves sweep two, Sabo's Padres win two, and the Reds just need to win.To avoid elimination the Tigers need to win three, the Braves and Phillies need to win one, and the Rays just need to win.

That's a lot to blog all at once. So... I won't. Also... I lied. Good Nurse Sabo will not be along shortly to explain that serious car wreck Sabo was in. Sorry about not previewing dog box games #80-84. Also, sorry about completely spacing on tallying the Twins win in the first White Sox "Dog Day" back on May 9th.

The D'backs won their last three dog games to become (almost) odds-on All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite. The hated Dodgers came into the Barkyard and won two of three... which lowered their second favorite projection by 1%. OTOH, the Rockies and Giants (3-4) were hung with the dreaded ~0. The Tigers, Phillies, and Braves each lost twice and were eliminated.

Next up, an A's win in game #85 would knock the Mariners out of first, and hang them with the dreaded ~0. A Mariners win would move them into undisputed first, and eliminate the A's, Rays, and Twins (1-1 ~0).

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Originally Posted by MissileDog

...Sabo in a Serious Car Wreck !!!1!... I'll let Good Nurse Sabo, who should be along shortly, explain this serious car wreck Sabo was in... Of course, the car being wrecked in Corona delayed [us] a bit...

Yeah, that was my longest break from blogging yet. I last posted the above. I got to thinking... that should sound like serious stuff. It was. We were going 70mph, and got t-boned by a SUV going over 100mph. Sabo was inches from the point of impact. The car is now a wreck. So, I thought some more, and I figured... I wonder if anyone will post asking how Sabo is, or maybe send me a PM, or perhaps 'tweet' out #ICareAboutSabo ??

No one ever did.

Please Tweet #ICareAboutSabo: For those who do the 'tweet', please tweet #ICareAboutSabo... if you in fact care, maybe even a little, or even just care about hearing about, Sabo. You really should, despite my flaws as a blogger... he's a good guy !!!1! Or... post ITT, or send me a PM. I'm kinda curious how many peeps care about Sabo out there in 2+2 land.

New Standards: Max frequency: one unprompted dog post per day, by local time. Responses to feedback posts not included. Preannounced special occasions not included. Discussion: The first exclusion was in my original plans... which I had forgotten about by the time I first formulated the standards. The second exclusion is just in case I wanna live-blog the dog some day. Under this new standard, I've never had an over-max lapse.

Min frequency: one post, with prose, every eight days, by local time. Preannounced special occasions not included. Discussion: This tightens up the standard to exclude pix only posts. IRRC the new standard adds two old periods to my under-min lapse tally. IRRC, including my just completed lapse, and my three old wrong-SN lapses... brings my new blog lapse total to nine over 3.5 years. Ouch !!!1! I'll try to do better going forward.

Rank: Alexa #5026 (in US, #15481 overall), last post #1, replies #10 (#18 overall), views #9 (#12 overall w/69447), Sabo in my #1.

Previous.

sorry, my two-plus-two existence has admittedly been on cruise control lately. i did gloss over that post but it sorta left me confused.

TYVM for asking. Sabo is safe & sound.

We went to the Lancaster Jethawks game back on June 13th. On the way back we were cruising the I-15 through Corona CA. Traffic was moderately heavy but fluid at the 70mph speed limit. Sabo was riding shotgun. He wasn't watching traffic like he likes to do in the daytime. Instead, he was lying down, but awake with his head up... being a good co-pilot and keeping me company during the long drive home.

Just before midnight, some fool in a Blazer going 100+mph, spins out just to the right of us, and without any warning to Sabo... t-bones right into the front passenger side door... crushing it into the shotgun seat, and showering Sabo with broken glass. The impact spun us 180°, and we came to rest in the middle of the freeway... staring into three lanes of oncoming headlights. I pushed the pedal trying to dart into that traffic and over to the shoulder, and... the engine just races.

Sabo's body must have taken the car out of gear upon impact. I quickly slapped it back into gear, and was able to dart to safety. It was a four car accident. The other three cars took off. The Blazer quickly came back. Luckily, nobody was injured. The car will likely be totalled.


As soon as I pulled the car over to the shoulder, Sabo crawled into my lap. He was trembling with fear. As we were facing the wrong direction, we could safely get out driver's door. We got out, and I verified that neither of us were injured. The CHP arrived quickly. They set up a traffic break and instructed me to turn the car around. A Good Samaritan offered to hold Sabo's leash while I did so... but as soon as I turned to get back into the wreck, he said Sabo "went nuts".

Instead, Sabo jumped right back into the wreck with me. He's a go-dog. He don't care about no wreck, no broken-glass, no cold night air. If there's places to go... Sabo's ready to go-go-go... right now !!!1! I've watched him carefully since. I know my Sabo. He has shown exactly zero signs of doggy PTSD. Dogs are tough. Formerly neglected and abandoned strays, like Sabo, are especially tough.

Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

The A's hung the dreaded ~0 on the Mariners on Wednesday. The All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite D'backs are looking to do the same to the Reds tomorrow.

Sunday, the day before the All-Star break, the Reds avoided the dreaded ~0 against the All-Star Sabo-Metric favorite D'backs. Tomorrow, the day after the All-Star break, starts a streak of four dog games in three days. Sabo's Padres need a win to avoid the dreaded ~0. The Giants need to sweep. More critically... the Giants, A's and zombie Indians each need a win to avoid elimination. An A's win also eliminates the defending SDDC champion Rangers (pix below).

The last 3-4 days Sabo's been shaking his head. It was a head shaker. He wasn't doing it all the time, and he wasn't in distress, but still... he was shaking his head. So off to the vet we went this morning.

Sabo ain't even pretending to like the vet anymore. This time he didn't even want to go inside the building. I talked my way into letting me weigh Sabo on the desktop puppy scale, because he really doesn't like getting on the walk-on scale for unknown reasons. He's at an all time high weight of 15.75lbs. We tried the cage muzzle this time which seemed to work better. But Sabo still struggled so that Doc Kevin had to have her tech come in to hold him.

It turned out Sabo had a foxtail way on down his right ear canal... but it hadn't dug in nor was it touching his eardrum. Doc Kevin said she'd have to numb Sabo up. Then she took him in the back where the torture devices are, I guess. Anyways, a couple of Sabo shrieks later... it was all over, and Sabo was very happy to leave. Gotta that Sabo... He's a Good Guy !!!1!.

Hey MD, welcome back.

I never though I'd say this, but... welcome back yourself.

Sabo isn't the same kinda dog as The Missile was... but he's a good guy, nonetheless. This isn't the way it's usually said at down at Missile Beach, but one could say that Sabo's a good little dog, and Cinnamon Stick was a good gal.

So far Sabo's been to Phoenix four times, Las Vegas twice, and once each to San Francisco and Atlanta. All known vacation hot-spots. Where is Sabo's next happening destination...



Will there be baseball? Well, Sabo's on the trip, so of course. We're going to see three pro games in three stadiums on three straight days: Lake Elsinore Storm @Visalia Rawhide in ~12 hours, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes @Lake Elsinore tommorow, and back home the Twins@Padres in the Barkyard Tuesday.

Will there be poker? Well, I'm on the trip, so of course. The plan is to play in five new cardrooms for me: Sundowner @Visalia, Eagle Mountain @Porterville, Tachi @Lemoore, Avaitar @Delano, Golden West @Bakersfield, as well repeating @Lake Elsinore Hotel.

Will there be fun? Well, I did mention Sabo's on the trip.

On the way up we stopped first at Golden State in Bakersfield. The 4/8 limit game broke at 20 minutes after I sat. Continuing north Eagle Mountain was dark when I called from Portersville (saving us the ~40mi r/t). After we had checked into our hotel in Visalia, Sabo stood guard as I took a ~60 r/t west to play at Tachi in Lemoore. After the baseball game on Sunday, Sabo again stood guard while I played at the Sundowner. Monday was too hot to leave Sabo in the minvan, even in the shade with the A/C on full blast. I stopped in Delano to enquire if there were any kennels or groomers in town. There are not, so I had to pass on the Aviator card room there. After the baseball game in Lake Elsinore, I decided to blow off playing at the now Lake Elsinore Casino & Econo Lodge Motel (it was the Lake Elsinore Hotel).

I continue to get my money in good and run bad in 2017.

Sundowners, which is just east of Visalia city limits, deserves special mention. The main building houses what looks like a strip joint, but they have no alcohol, and I'm told the dancers don't strip. This is open one night a week. On Sunday, it wasn't open, but that's where the bathrooms are, and it seems the disco ball/etc are wired to the light switch. It's like cutting trough a strip joint for ghosts to take a pee.

The two table cardroom area is in the back. It's open three days a week. This was an excellently run room, with very friendly service, and a great buncha regs there that Sunday night. Next time I drive CA-99, I'll definitely stop back on by.

Sabo's 9th overnight road trip was the shortest by both duration (1 night), and milage (816.2). But while short, it was very sweet. At both Tachi & Sundowner I was amused everyone assumed I was local. When I said I wasn't, they universally guessed I was in town (a) as the gateway to the Sierra parks to the east, (b) I was just travelling through, or (c) I was visiting friends y/o family. They were all incredulous when I told them nope, I came to only Visalia, on purpose, as a vacation. They said that's flat out unheard of. When I told them I left the beach in San Diego to do so... well I'm going to guess they all figured I'm insane.

On the way up on Sunday we zipped through LA... I guess leaving at ~5am on a Sunday is the trick... and up over the Grapevine hill to the I-15/CA-99 split. From here to I-15 in Victorville, it was all new milage for Sabo. However, he didn't really watch traffic this trip, as he usually does. After we stopped at Golden West [not 'Golden State', that was a typo] Sabo & me took a long-cut to Visalia by zipping up CA-65 through Porterville. We encountered zero traffic the whole way up, and it was a rarity: a thoroughly enjoyable drive (322.0 miles up, 99.6 local miles around Visalia).

On the way down on Monday, we zipped south to Bakersfield on CA-99, then zipped east up Tehachapi Pass, where we stopped to view the Union Pacific's famous Tehachapi Loop from the historical markers (no trains went by). From there we continued on to the town of Tehachapi, and the mini-park at the replica train depot museum. The original depot from the 1880s was arsoned in 2008. The mini-park has a view of the train tracks (no trains went by), a very nice display of historical RR signals, and... a nice cool breeze for the first time since we'd left the oppressive heat of the Central Valley. Sabo was very happy to relax on the nice lawn. We'd recommend everyone visit this fine little museum and park if driving CA-58.

From Tehachapi we continued zipping east on CA-58 to Kramer Jct, then zipped south on US-395 to Victorville. Here we picked up traffic for the only time on the trip. We slogged across the outskirts of town to I-15, then slogged south down Cajon Pass (w/ trains going by), slogged through Corona, by the site of the car being wrecked, and slogged onto the Diamond in Lake Elsinore. After the Storm game, we continued south on I-15, and zipped back to the Sabotat (394.6 miles down).

It wasn't really a downside, but the heat was oppressive in the Central Valley. I forced myself to eat a "Papa Burger" @A&W Sunday. Otherwise, neither Sabo or me ate anything to speak of. We each drank a ton, and I eschewed alcohol, in the effort to stay hydrated... to the extend I got that bloated feeling by the Storm game.

Visalaia Trip	me	Sabo
Gas*	$124.82	--
Storm Parking	5	--
Hotel	66.02	--
Extra Food	--	--
Entertainment**	54	$1
Total	$249.84	$1

* ^{@Visalia 16.619g/$2.999, @Kramer Jct 15.844g/$2.699, top off 9.522g/$2.759; 19.4mpg.}
** ^{me: $40 net poker loss, $7 Rawhide tix, $7 Storm Tix; Sabo: $1 Storm Tix.}

The mildly annoying NFL Exhibition season kicked off sometime last week -3 in Canton OH. This season, the World's Biggest League was actually competent enough to stripe a field... so the game was played as scheduled. Sabo & me were out & about, so we missed all that excitement. Rumer is the hated Cowboys won. Yawn.

Wk-3 8-3	Cowboys (ex w)	Cardinals	@Canton OH ~ HOF game
Wk-2 Today 4:30	Jaguars (ex)	@Patriots
Thu 9-7 5:30	Chefs (12-5)	@Patriots (17-2)	Start regular season
Sun 9-24 6:30am	Ravens (8-8)	Jaguars (3-13)	@London ~ Wembley Stdm
Sun 10-1 6:30am	Saints (7-9)	Dolphins (10-7)	@London ~ Wembley Stdm
Sun 10-15 10:01	Patriots	@Jets (5-11)	Rivalry Bowl XLVI
Sun 10-22 10:01	Cardinals (7-8-1)	Rams (4-12)	@London ~ Twickenham Stdm
Sun 10-29 6:30am	Vikings (8-8)	Browns (1-15)	@London ~ Twickenham Stdm
Sun 11-19 1:25	Patriots	Raiders (12-5)	@Mexico City ~ Azteca Stdm ~ Patriots Bowl
Sun 12-31 10:01	Jets	@Patriots	Rivalry Bowl XLVII ~ End regular season
Sun 2-4 3:30			@Minneapolis ~ Superb Owl #52

_{A gratuitous sports post. Pacific Time. 2016 Records.}

Today, in week -2 action, my defending Superb Owl champion Patriots open their exhibition season. I figure, since I'm a noob fan, I should actually watch this game. Annoyingly, that will be down at the local, as the game isn't on TV here.

The big change in the NFL this season is the infamous and shameful demise of my beloved Bolts... and their replacement in the AFC West with a completely unrelated franchise... one which had went on hiatus following the 1960 AFL season. Other than that, the league will follow the exact same formula as last season. One rule change of note: regular season OT is now 10 minutes max, down from 15.

In 2017 on MNF we have the traditional opening week doubleheader, followed by 14 weeks of single games, then finishing with another doubleheader on Xmas Eve. There are TNF games the first 15 weeks. The traditional Thanksgiving day games are in week #15. There are two games each on the last two Saturdays of the season. There are five neutral site international games this season (see above). Three of those games have 6:30am "Dawn Patrol" start times. The Raiders, Jaguars, Dolphins, Rams, and Browns have only seven home games.

The regular season starts Thursday Sept 7th... with the Chefs visiting my Patriots in Foxborough. If all things go as planned... my Patriots will be defending their Superb Owl championship in Minneapolis on February 4th. Go Patriots !!!1!

In week -2 action, my Patriots lost a meaningless game to the Jaguars. Most starters, including T.Brady, skipped this game... so I'm not sure what I learned as a noob fan. But hey... it's football and it's my new team.

Next up: my Patriots @Texans a week from tomorrow. This is a rematch of my first ever game as a Patriots fan... way back on Jan 14. Annoyingly, none of the defending Superb Owl champ's exhibition games are on TV here.

Week -2: Yesterday	Jaguars	@my Patriots (ex l)
Week -1: Sat Aug 19 5:00	my Patriots	@Texans (ex)

^{A gratuitous sports post. Pacific Time. 2016 Records.}


The minor changes in FBS this season are (a) two more teams, (b) one more conference championship game, (c) one less bowl game, and (d) Zero Week.

One of the new teams is old: UAB. The Blazers have now finished their two season hiatus. They rejoin CUSA, now in the Western division. The other new team is the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, of Conway SC. They have transitioned from FCS into the Sun Belt conference. This brings SB to 12, CUSA to 14, and FBS to 130 total teams.

The new conference championship game is old too: the Big 12. However, uniquely the Big 12 isn't splitting into divisions. Instead, the top two teams will meet in a guaranteed rematch. The SB remains the only conference without divisions or a championship game.

Two bowls folded: the Miami Beach Bowl... which was actually played in Marlins Stadium in Miami, and in a surprise, Sabo's Aztecs safety bowl... the Poinsettia Bowl @Q. Replacing the MB Bowl is the Frisco Bowl, in Frisco TX. Each of the previous two seasons three luser teams have gone bowling. With two more teams, and one less bowl, it's unlikely lusers will go bowling this season. If it does come down to APR, my Golden Bears are looking good at #32... Sabo Aztecs are not at #95.

The traditional perk for playing @Hawaii is the option of an extra games. This year BYU and San Jose State will play that extra 13th game. A new perk this season is the option of opening the season two saturdays before Labor Day. Hawaii, Colorado State as well as BYU, and SJSU, are opening on what is called "Zero Week" this season. Fresno State, as well Sabo's Aztecs, declined both perks.

In addition to the four Zero Week games on Aug 26th... as reconed by Pacific time, Stanford and Rice are also playing in Sydney AU @Allainz Stdm. This is a different and smaller stadium than ANZ Stdm, where my Golden Bears beat Hawaii last season.

274	P5 Conf	6 ns (neutral site)
248	G5 Conf
97	P5-G5	74@P5, 20@G5, 3 ns
51	G5-FCS	all @G5
44	P5-FCS	43 @P5; fam-ar @Little Rock
37	G5-G5
31	P5-P5	5 ns
27	G5-ind	15@ind*, 11@G5; arm-nvy @Philadelphia
17	P5-ind	9@P5*, 7@ind*; fam-ar @Little Rock
3	ind-FCS	prt@byu, fr@arm; ma-me @Fenway Park
1	ind-ind	ma@byu
9	Conf Chp	5 P5 (ns), 4 G5 (1 ns)
33	Bowls**	15 P5-P5, 11 G5-G5, 4 P5-G5, 2 G5-ind, 1 P5-ind
4	NY6 Bowls	P5-G5 Fiesta; P5-P5 Cotton, Orange, Peach
3	CFB Playoffs	Rose, Sugar; @Atlanta

^{* 5 nd@P5, 4 P5@nd, 3 G5@nd. ** Reasonable WAG. Universal Team Abbv.}

There are 879 FBS games scheduled this season (above). The season opener is Oregon State @Colorado State on August 26th. If things go as planned... Sabo's Aztecs will be playing in the NY6 Fiesta Bowl on December 30th. Sabo sez go Aztecs !!!1! And... my Golden Bears will be playing in the CFB Championship @Atlanta on January 8th. Go Bears !!!1!