Today, Allen and Mike return from the holdiday weekend after  extended travels to places like Phoenix Muni and the western suburbs of Chicago (Mike, that is).  What do we have to talk about? TV over the Web which is different than IPTV. Yes, yes it is different. 

Listen and see what we mean.

Our baseball season is officially over. Today, we trekked down to Phoenix Muni to watch the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for The Americas (a sub regional) as two teams that have no chance of making the Olympics—Panama and Guatemala-- squared off in front of 48 loyal fans (on an absolutely gorgeous day).

It was a 12-1 blow out, and it was a miracle that Guatemala scored. They were outmanned but not short on heart. A few of the Panama players are in the minor leagues—Jony Lasso, Avelino Asprilla and Donald Julio. The others are a collection of young talent and older players, still playing their hearts out for their countries.

Of note: they played both countries’ national anthems (no words) and the game was being broadcast back to Panama (as you see in the video). You can just visual millions of Panamanians sitting and hearing the accounts of their heroes thousands of miles away. As we learned after the game, the U.S. swept the five-game tournament and finished on top of the bracket with Canada and Nicaragua finishing in a tie for second at 3-2. The top four teams will advance to the Americas Qualifying Tournament to be held in Cuba in August 2006.

And so it goes. Our season comes to an end until next February in pre-spring training. It’s been a great nine months. We can hardly wait til 2006.

Okay, I admit, perhaps watching a dog herding goats into a pen is about as exciting as watching paint dry, but it's one of the most popular events at the recent dog agility competition held last week at Westworld.

Here's another clip from the dog agility show from last week at Westworld in Scottsdale. A Japanese competitor in the Ashley Whippet Flying Disc competition puts her dog through the paces. My wife and I actually once met the Ashley Whippet; that's a story for another day.

Players saying goodbye and acting very gracious to the fans who wait as they make their way from Phoenix Muni Stadium to the team bus.

On a sunny Saturday, we made it to the Arizona Fall League championship for the second consecutive year. Oddly, it was the same two teams as last year—Scorpions and Desert Dogs, although the players and MLB teams who made up the squads, were different. The results were the same as the Desert Dogs were the winners, this time 9-3.

Matt Kemp of the Dodgers was the star of the game with two home runs and Jamie Shields of the D-rays pitched seven strong innings for the win. Casey Daigle—with celeb wife Jenny Finch cheering him on—came on to pitch the ninth inning. It was a sloppy game with five errors between the two teams, a few of the errors leading to big rallies for the Dogs.

The game was as much about who was there as who played. In this clip, you will find Davey Johnson, former Mets manager, Braves second baseman as well as manager of Team USA Baseball, the Olympic team; the Big Bopper, Bob Watson, (former Astros star now MLB and Team USA exec) and Angels owner Arte Moreno. We saw but did not capture on video former Cardinals/A’s/Cleveland outfielder Georeg Henrdick, former White Sox exec Rollie Hemond and the father & son Garagiolas, Joe and Joe Jr.

Thus ends another season of Arizona Fall league. Who from this crop will vie for Rookie of the Year in ’06? Stay tuned!

At the dog agility event at Westworld, here's one canine competitor making his/her (?) way through the obstacle course.

After last year’s posting of pictures from the Dock Dogs event at Westworld here in Scottsdale, I was psyched to come back in 2005 at shoot video. So, on Veterans Day, we made our way to the U.S. Dog Agility Association event in which the amazing diving dogs were featured.

It’s a long clip, but it’s worth all six-plus minutes. The star of the show is Gabe, a flying Border Collie who is owned by and trained by Todd Bobula of Dayon, Nevada. I spoke to Todd for a minute after the event and the bond between man and dog was remarkable. The announcer said (and he might have been joking) that Gabe delivers invoices to customers’ doors for Todd as part of his business. I would not be surprised. The other star of the day is actually Gabe’s son, Bolt, who flies just like his dad. Another member of the Bobula clan handles Bolt.

Today was the second day of heats (or waves, as they call them) with the finals on Sunday afternoon.

Other other 2004 Fall League favorite, Ryan Howard, officially makes it 2 for 2. He was named NL Rookie of the Year. Props to him and Huston Street. Which 2005 AFL star will it be next year?

Shooting video at the New York City Marathon was, so far, the highlight of my eight months of videoblogging. The best thing about it is that the clips need very little explanation. Here are two clips that speak for themselves. I will string a bunch together into a “movie” with titles when I have access to my PowerBook and the wonderful iMovie application.

I called it. Tomorrow, it will be official, Huston Street is the AL Rookie of the Year! Back in February when the A's were in pre-Spring Training, you could sense that Huston Street was up to the challenge of being a big-league closer. He has the stuff plus the mental toughness of a veteran (or perhaps the toughness of the son of a former UT quarterback?).

In this clip, now close to eight months old, Street is signing autographs (saying "Thank your, sir" and "Thank you ma'am") for the handful of A's faithful at Papago Park in Phoenix. Later, I asked him how it felt to be the future "Rookie of the Year." He just smiled. My wife and I saw it coming; we saw him in Fall League last season when he saved the Championship Game.

Here’s a gratuitous night shot of Times Square in New York. Actually, I am constantly testing the light limits of my Sanyo Xacti so I can establish whether I need a camera with more low-light functionality. It would be a tradeoff unless I could get a higher-end camera that was as small and nimble as my Sanyo.

Not exactly part of my New York music series, but here's a street mime who stands still until a passerby puts some money in her hat. That will set her in motion...temporarily.

I just happened to walk by Bryant Park in Manhattan when I came upon what an ice rink (The Pond). It’s cool outside, but not cold enough for a real ice rink. Nonetheless, skaters were having a good time. I am not sure it this replaces the one a few blocks away at Rockefeller Plaza or is just additive.

Here's a short clip of a new billboard of Marvin Gaye in Times Square. As I seek inspiration to get through a busy day, I'll think of Marvin Gaye and his great music (solo and in duets). My favorite Marvin Gaye song-- "Ain't That Peculiar."