How to make MLB better (and make sure yesterdays disgrace never happens again)

A perfect game is one of if not the hardest thing to accomplish in professional sports. Only 20 have ever achieved it (Two earlier this season ironically) And yesterday we saw something that has never before happened in the history of baseball. The Umpire called the runner safe on what was a clear out and therefore the play was officially scored a hit, thus stealing the perfect game from Galarraga. Did this happen in the 4th inning? NO! It happened on the final play of the game!!

The Umpire immediately realized his mistake upon looking at the replay, and tearfully apologized to everyone who would listen. Today Selig the inept commissioner of baseball did not reverse the call.

This is 2010 not 1953...we have the technology to eliminate this kind of thing, and do it in a way which ironically will speed up the game. The NFL uses instant replay, so does the NHL, and Tennis has the most foolproof system of all...and it's great!! Here is what I propose...

• Today two doubles were overturned in MLB ironically and called homeruns due to instant replay!! Time to expand it..
• Utilize a replay ump to review these plays
• Outlaw the silly arguments where the manager or coach flings his hat and kicks the dirt and jaws with the ump..(these take time)...instead..give each manager 2 challenges per game.....just like the NFL..these can be done quickly
• In critical "game is on the line" situations...any close play must automatically be reviewed by the replay ump......
• In closing...the great game is better than this...we are better than this....humans beings evolve, we get better.....I'm not proposing we change the distance from the mound to the plate..or make it 4 strikes instead of 3..I'm saying we use technology to make right calls to protect the integrity of the game!

While on the subject of MLB..here is another suggestion to help make the games come in around 2.5 hours..like Hockey does, and like Basketball does......

• No more 7th inning singing of "God Bless America"!!!
• No more batters stepping out of the box
• No more pitchers taking a lap around the mound
• Teach pitchers not to be "strikeout" pitchers
• Limit team conferences on the mound to 3 per game (just like a timeout in the other sports---in Hockey each team gets only one 30 second time out!)
• No more managers running onto the field of play to argue calls (this doesn't happen in the other 3 sports)
• Make a foul territory rule where the field must be a certain size of foul territory...(The way Dodger Stadium used to be) This will increase the frequency of outs.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

James Carville goes slappy go jacky on Obamas response to BP Oil Spill

Carville vents his disbelief and anger at Obama's reaction to the Oil Spill...very interesting....

It's Over

********SPOILER ALERT*******************

The Twilight Zone for our generation has finally come to an end. Lost went out last night in beautiful, poignant fashion.

From the very first frame of the pilot episode (Close up on Jacks eye opening) I was hooked on this show. I can't ever remember a show that has captivated so many, and frustrated so many. Shot on location entirely in Hawaii the show was beautifully filmed , and "The Island" held so many secrets that enthralled millions of people. But beyond the "mystery" what made the show great was that it was a great character study. Everyone, Jack, Hurley, Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Sun and Jin, Michael, Walt and Sayid had rich and fascinating back stories.

Have you ever read a great mystery novel? If you're like me you'll agree that sometimes whats the most fun about these stories is when you don't know the answer. Many times it is much more fun to use your imagination. I have read zillions of books that were let downs at the end once the bad guy was revealed. What was so great about Lost was that whenever a question was answered, a new one or new ones were introduced. This happened most famously in the series at the end of season 3 when the "Flash Forwards" were introduced and the entire series reshuffled itself in perfect fashion.

So on to last night...why did I like it so much? Because it didn't answer every question!! It left me feeling very satisfied at the end though...and here is the final scene.....as Jack collapses and is dying.....Vincent the Yellow Lab...runs up to him licks his face and then sensing trouble, he lays down next to him to comfort him in his dying breaths....Close up on Jacks eye...and it closes....fade to black.

"Now that...is the right question"

New site I found..you can ask me any question you want and you can be anonymous about it......then I'll put my answers for y'all..

http://www.formspring.me/garrettriley

Come on...ask me a question already!!

Remembering Kristin and Neda

On May 10th, 1984 two 12 year old girls were brutally murdered by a 16 year year old monster. One of the girls, Kristin MacKnight was one year older than myself and went to Riviera Hall with me and my brother up until 5th grade...I have a single memory of her playing in the playground, that I can recall. Her sister Brenda was in my grade and also was in my graduating class at Peninsula.

I repress this event....I've been repressing it for 26 years now....the date MAY 10TH is one thing that triggers the memory...another is a certain song that I cannot listen to anymore...it was one of the songs playing when I read the newspaper article about it the day after it happened. Last night I was up till midnight and when the date May 10th came on my Iphone..I started to feel sick and angry again...angry that the monster is still alive in Corcoran Prison....I thought about what their lives would have been like....Who would they have married? What would they be doing? They would both be 37 or 38 years old today.

I'll never forget Neda O'Sullivan or Kristin MacKnight.

The Peter Gabriel Concert

"It’s all too easy in the age of “American Idol” to forget just how profoundly powerful music can be in the hands of an absolute master like Peter Gabriel."------La Times review of the concert

Part two of the Tasha and Garrett Hollywood Bowl summer concert series concluded Friday night with Peter Gabriel, backed by a full orchestra. He is doing something different this time out and forgoing all guitars and drums. The first half of the concert was all covers...in fact he played the complete track list of his new CD in order. Then a 15 minute break..then the second half was his classics (every song he has written is pretty much a classic) At 60 years old his signature voice hasn't lost that deep gravelness to it..and his range is intact. But for me I was longing to hear his signature rhythm parts and diverse electronic sounds that are his trademark. So the concert was for his standards a bit of a disappointment..most of the songs were downtempo and very soft.

So next month Tasha and I conclude with part 3 Sting.....who I will be seeing for a record 9th time (Four with the Police and Four solo) I have always thought of Peter Gabriel and Sting equal to each other in songwriting talent.....and the greatest test of all...how many times have I played "Us" or "So" by Gabriel...or "Nothing like the Sun" or "The Soul Cages" by Sting.....countless times folks...countless

Because of the Arizona immigration law, I will lose money

Arizona is one crazy state, when I was there a few weeks ago, myself and my co-workers went out to dinner at a sports bar with this sign on its door: "NO Firearms allowed on the premises" Something you would never see here in the Golden State.

Illegal immigration is a tough and complex issue, and I want to point out something that happened to me today at work. For those of you that don't know, my job involves traveling around the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas going into dental and vet offices. I've got some diverse areas, from the affluent Pasadena, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, etc. To the not so affluent: Palmdale, Lancaster, Panorama City, Van Nuys. About 15% of all my visits are to primarily hispanic practices. One of the best if not the best performing spanish speaking practice is in Reseda and the reason it is doing so well is because Ricardo the OM (office manager) is someone who knows how to sell dentistry and package it with financing to give the patient every chance to say "Yes". But no matter how good you are if you don't have patients then you are in big trouble. So today Ricardo and I are talking about things in general, our kids, schools, the craziness of the DOW today...how he is going to UCLA to take some more classes so he can get certified in some restoration procedures and so on. Then he told me something interesting...he said that the past two weeks has been extraordinarily difficult because people are not coming in. I asked why and he said "Because of what is happening in Arizona, people are scared" I didn't engage in a political discussion because I never do on any sales calls...but basically it comes down to this: Elective procedures that cost money are some of the first things to be put off when people are scared about a life altering event. They retreat, they do not spend....

So here is how that will effect me: for Q1 this year I finished at 105.5 % since I finished at over 105% I will get 105% of my bonus....because of this it is very likely that I will finish below 105% for Q2 and get 100% of my bonus...therefore causing me to lose money...and it will be a direct result of the Arizona immigration law.