Jozy Altidore and Dwight Howard

by Coltrane

It looks like ESPN is now “on board” with soccer in America. Here’s today’s piece by Bill Simmons, it has an interesting comparison between Jozy Altidore and the NBA’s Dwight Howard.

We scored five goals in four games: two on hustle goals off second chances, one on a penalty kick, one on a brain fart by England’s goalie, and Donovan’s goal against Slovenia, which came with the help of a mistimed defensive play. Not a single “WOW!!!!!!!!!” play among them.

…We reached a certain plateau in 2010, a little like a 47-win NBA team that everyone knows can’t make the Finals. Watch how those crafty Germans bang home scoring chances, or the blinding speed of their young stud Mesut Ozil on the wing. Rewatch that “WOW!!!!!!!!!” goal scored by Uruguay’s striker to beat Korea Republic, or the one by Tevez in the Argentina-Mexico game. Team USA never made you scream “WOW!!!!!!!!!” for a really good reason: We don’t have a player with that kind of chops. This was a team of grinders and overachievers. We didn’t have enough speed without Charlie Davies, and we certainly don’t have a world-class striker who creates scoring chances out of thin air. In four Cup games, our forwards scored zero goals. That’s why we went home over everything else.

By 2014, maybe young Jozy Altidore (only 20) will get there; he certainly has the physical gifts, although it’s unclear whether he has any scoring touch. (It’s the difference between Dwight Howard’s low-post game and Pau Gasol’s low-post game; you can work at it all you want, but you’ll never be as good as the guys who are born to put it into the net. A guy like Germany’s Miroslav Klose could find the far post falling out of a wheelchair when he’s 60. It’s a DNA thing. I am convinced. So the worry is that Jozy has too much Howard in him and not enough Gasol.) Maybe Davies and Fast Young Guy X will provide that missing burst on the wing. Maybe Teenage Prodigy X is four years from saving us and we don’t even know his name. But you can’t advance to the semifinals without the “WOW!!!!!!!!!” factor. Impossible.

I’m rooting for Altidore to make The Leap, but I’m definitely concerned that he has too much Dwight Howard in him. The U.S. Soccer Team needs more guys with the physicality and athleticism of Terrell Owens and Allen Iverson — if those guys were “heady” soccer players.

I just named three headcases for my desired athlete(?)

(2-1/2, at least.)

Maybe that’s the reason U.S. soccer has yet to win big on the world stage — all of the headcases gravitate to the “big three” sports — if only because that’s where they’re tolerated.

Check out Simmon’s piece — it’s 20 bullet points about the World Cup and soccer in America in general.

Sambal Oelek

by Coltrane

Sambal Oelek is a spicy asian chili paste. I like to use it instead of cayenne or tabasco — anywhere heat is needed. Here are three quick recipes; one “Asian”, one “Mexican”, and one “Mediterranian”. Sambal Oelek works great in all three.

“Asian” Sauteed Spinach

2 TBP	Peanut or Canola Oil
1 lb	Baby Spinach
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
2 TBP	Soy Sauce
½ tsp	Sambal Oelek

Heat a skillet and oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until it colors a bit. Add soy, spinach, and Sambal Oelek, cover for 1 minute. Remove cover and stir until the spinach is cooked to your liking, about 2-5 minutes more.

Psuedo Pico de Gallo

About 6	Roma tomatoes
½ – 1	Red or Sweet Onion
½ cup	Chopped Cilantro
Juice of 1-2	Lime
pinch	Salt
½ – 1 tsp	Sambal Oelek

Seed and dice tomatoes. (They’re easiest to seed if you cut them through the equator and clean out with your finger.) Mince the onion. Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

White Bean Hummus Send-Up

I use peanut butter instead of tahini in this recipe. Don’t tell them and they won’t notice. (Of course, if they did call me on it I’d say “Well yeah, I didn’t tell you it was Hummus”.)

1 can	White (Cannellini) Beans
Juice of 1	Lemon
2 cloves	Garlic
pinch	Salt
1 TBP	Peanut Butter
1 TBP	Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp	Sambal Oelek

Drain beans. Roughly chop the garlic. Add garlic to food processor and process briefly. Add all other ingredients and process until smooth. It may require a bit more oil to get the texture you want.

Recommended Game: Ticket to Ride – Europe

by Coltrane

Title: Ticket to Ride – Europe

Game Type: Set Collection – Acquire multiple cards of one color to build train routes in Europe.

Number of Players: 2-5

Complexity of Rules: Low

Time to Play: About an hour with 3 people, longer with more.

The concept: The board is a map of Europe. Each destination is connected to others by train routes of different lengths and colors. For example, two destinations might have 4 red “tracks” in between them. To connect them you would need to play 4 red cards from your hand, which would allow you to play your trains to claim that “track”. The object of the game is to collect the correct cards to complete routes between selected destinations on the map, seen below (the grey routes are “wild”, any color can be played onto those). The “strategy part” is managing your hand, the board, and the pace of the game.

Why I like it: Ticket to Ride – Europe is a “gateway game” for non-gamers. People who have only played old-school games like Monopoly will like it, and it’s a good introduction to the European-style games that don’t feature a “finish line.” It’s simple enough that anyone can play but good strategy and game management still get rewarded. Finally, the crowd doesn’t have to be super focused to play, though it does help the game go faster.

Available at Gary’s Games in Seattle and Amazon.com. Note that there are many flavors in the Ticket to Ride series of games — you want the just plain “Europe” version. (Not “Europa”, not “1912”…)

The BoardGameGeek page. Reviews are about 2/3 of the way down the page.

Russell Branyan

By Blaidd Drwg

He’s baaaaccckkkk! In the WTF move of the week by Jack Zduriencik, the Marines have traded 2 spare part minor leaguers for old friend Russell Branyan.

Despite the M’s first base issues, why trade for a 32 year old slugger with back problems when you are sitting 14 games back of first place in your division half way through the season? Me thinks that Z is not ready to give up on the season, which is probably going to lead to at least one other stupid deal and possible the M’s not trading Cliff Lee. I also suspect that this will mean that either Mike Carp or Mike Saunders (or possibly both) will see a significant reduction in playing time or a trip back to Tacoma. Wak does love to play his veterans.

Alton Brown’s Diet, Granola Bar Recipe

by Coltrane

The diet that Alton Brown used to lose 50 pounds in 9 months:

Daily:

Fruits, Whole Grains, Leafy Greens, Nuts, Carrots, and Green Tea. Eat breakfast every day.

3 times per Week:

Oily Fish, Yogurt, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Avocado.

1 time per Week:

Red Meat, Pasta, Dessert, Alchohol (one drink).

Never:

Fast Food, Soda, Processed Meats, Canned Soups, “Diet Anything”.

Alton Brown expressed a low opinion of store-bought granola bars during the episode “Live and Let Diet”. Below is nutrition information for his granola bars, compared to Nature Valley’s Peanut Butter granola bars.

Item	AB’s	Nature Valley
Cal	189	190
Total Fat	6.2g	7g
Sodium	9.4mg	180mg
Total Carbs	29.8g	28g
Fiber	3.84g	2g
Sugar	13.8g	11g
Protein	4.35g	5g

You decide if it’s worth making your own.

Nutrition Information and Recipe Source. Note that the serving size in the left column was 1/3 the number of calories of the right column. (63 calories vs 190 calories.) The math has been adjusted so that it is a direct comparison.

Recommended Game: Betrayal at House on the Hill

by Coltrane

Title: Betrayal at House on the Hill

Game Type: “Horror” Strategy Game

Number of Players: 3-6

Complexity of Rules: Low-Medium

Time to Play: About an hour

The Concept: Players explore a haunted house. As the players explore they trigger Events and Omens. As more and more Omens occur it becomes increasingly likely that the endgame starts, which is called the Haunt. The player that triggered the Haunt becomes the Traitor. The Traitor then receives his Win Condition for that game, which is known only to him. The Heroes are all of the other remaining players. The Heroes learn (in secret) what they need to do to stop the Traitor. The Traitor’s Win Condition might be something like killing all of the Heroes. It could be something stranger like going to the cemetary and digging up an object. There are fifty possible scenarios in all.

Why I like this game:

1. Exploring the haunted house is fun. The house never has the same layout from game to game, as the players explore they draw tiles to determine what room they just walked into.

2. Each player is playing as an Explorer. The Explorers are all well-known horror film cliches, such as Professor Longfellow, Madame Zostra, the athletic (and stupid) Darren “Flash” Williams, and the cheerleader-type Heather Granville. Each Explorer has his or her own unique attributes — Speed, Might (strength), Knowledge (smarts), and Sanity. Many Events and actions require a check (dice roll) against an attribute to determine success or failure (such as avoiding falling down broken stairs).

3. The Event cards have some well-written “color” text. They’re best read aloud with the proper “B-movie horror film dramatic voice.” For example: “FOOTSTEPS — The floorboards slowly creak. Dust rises. Footprints appear on the dirty floor. And then, as they reach you, they are gone.”

4. The game doesn’t require too much brainwork. It’s good for groups where people are relatively more focused on being socal and eating chips.

Here’s the BoardGameGeek page. There are other reviews accessible about 2/3 of the way down the page.

Available at Gary’s Games or Amazon.com. (For some reason the Amazon price is $189.95, so I’m not going to link it. It should be about a $40-45 game.)

Useless Information from the M’s Media Guide

By Blaidd Drwg

I happened to be leafing through the Mariners Media guide and I noticed this table:

Youngest Mariners to Make Their Debut with the Team

Player	Age	Debut
Edwin Nunez	18 yrs, 315 days	April 7, 1982
Alex Rodriguez	18 yrs, 346 days	July 8, 1994
Felix Hernandez	19 yrs, 119 days	August 4, 2005
Ken Griffey Jr	19 yrs, 133 days	April 3, 1989

An impressive list to say the least – 2 guys who are no doubt HOFers, a guy who is on his way to being one and Edwin Nunez? He actually had a few decent seasons over his 13 year career. I had forgotten that he was actually a useful reliever for most of his career. Thought it was appropriate seeing as the Mariners wore their 1982 throwback unis yesterday in Milwaukee.

The other tidbit I noticed was a trend in Felix Hernandez HR’s allowed and his ERA. Here is his career:

Year	IP	HR Allowed	ERA	HR per 9 Innings
2005	84.1	5	2.67	0.5
2006	191.0	23	4.52	1.1
2007	190.1	20	3.92	0.9
2008	200.2	17	3.45	0.8
2009	238.2	15	2.49	0.6
2010	112.2	9	3.28	0.7

A very interesting trend to say the least, but not surprising – his ERA goes down when he doesn’t give up the long ball. Probably not ground breaking, but I thought it was interesting.

Upcoming Events for Foodies

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Some upcoming events for foodies and non-foodies alike that may be of interest:

June 26th – Paella Cook Off at Treehouse Bar in Ballard. Never knew this event existed. For $25, you get to eat lots of paella and get 2 glasses of wine or beer. Sounds like fun.

July 10th – Mobile Chowdown 4 at the Seattle Center. Food Trucks, lots of them, enough said.

July 11th –Burning Beast 2010 at Smoke Farms in Arlington. It is sold out but how could you not love a full day of roasted meats prepared by 11 Seattle Area Chefs.

July 14th – Fare Start’s Guest Chef on the Waterfront – Bell Harbor Convention Center. Heck $75 for an all you can eat, all you can drink event featuring some of Seattle’s best chefs? I wish I didn’t already have plans. Did I mention that all proceeds are going to support Fare Start’s programs?

August 25-28 – Cheese-a-topia at various locations in Seattle. I will be honest, I had no idea that there was even a National Cheese Society, but I love the idea and I love cheese, so I may have to take Mrs. Iron Chef to some of the events.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer – 25th Anniversary Celebration at Le Gourmand in Ballard. They are offering a $45 pirx fixe menu to celebrate. A great way to get out to one of the best (and most expensive) restaurants in Seattle.

Jeff Clement, We Hardly Knew You

By Blaidd Drwg

With the demotion of Ian Snell last week, it got me thinking about the main piece the Mariners gave up to acquire Snell and Jack Wilson – Jeff Clement. The 2005 MLB draft was one of the best in recent history – 33 out of the 48 players drafted in the first round have seen some major league action and a number of them are going to be superstars for years to come: Tulowitzki, Upton, Zimmerman and Braun. The Mariners had the 3^rd pick in the draft in 2005, and with that selection Bill Bavasi took Jeff Clement, a power hitting catcher out of USC who scouting report showed a MLB bat but indictated he would probably not be a catcher at the major league level due to his defense. This was a deep draft – the two players taken ahead of Clement were Justin Upton and Alex Gordon. Zimmerman, Tulo, Braun and a gaggle of other good players were taken after Clement. So where did the Mariners go wrong in this draft?

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think that Bavasi drafted for need rather than taking the best player available. Here is the rest of the top 10 after Clement:

Player	Team	Position
Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	3B
Ryan Braun	Brewers	3B
Ricky Romero	Blue Jays	SP
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	SS
Wade Townsend	Devil Rays	SP
Mike Pelfrey	Mets	SP
Cameron Maybin	Tigers	OF

I figure that if the Mariners would not have picked Clement, they would have taken one of the guys on the above list. Zimmerman, Braun and Tulo are all at or just below the superstar level in the majors. Romero and Pelfrey are bordering on being above average starters; Maybin is looking overmatched, but is still young and may turn it around. Townsend blew out his elbow, was terrible in the minors anyway and will probably never pitch in the majors.

Why a catcher? The M’s did not have any real catching prospects in their system in 2005, so it was definitely something they needed. Bavasi was probably thinking that they were set at 3B – they had Adrian Beltre signed to a long term deal. They had their SS of the future in Yuniesky Betancourt. They had Jeremy Reed in the OF, who, at the time, looking like he was going to be an above average player. They didn’t have a 1B prospect, so maybe the thinking was that if Clement flames out as a catcher, they can put him at 1B or DH. I don’t justify it and I think, even without the benefit of hindsight, I would have probably gone with Tulowitzki, just because you can always move a power hitting SS to another position if you need to and you go with the best available player when you have as many holes as the Mariners have.

So, how poorly did this work out for the Mariners? Here is the same list as above with Clement, Upton and Gordon added:

Player	Draft Pos	WAR	Career OPS+/ERA+
Justin Upton	1	6.5	109
Alex Gordon	2	3.8	97
Jeff Clement	3	-1.3	74
Ryan Zimmerman	4	14.2	118
Ryan Braun	5	11.2	142
Ricky Romero	6	5.4	113
Troy Tulowitzki	7	15.5	110
Wade Townsend	8
Mike Pelfrey	9	4.6	98
Cameron Maybin	10	1.6	80
Andrew McCutchen	11	5.8	127

Townsend is easily the biggest bust of the top 10 – he was drafted in the top 10 in both 2004 (8^th by the Orioles) and in 2005 and managed a stellar 5.58 ERA in the minors before blowing out his arm. The irony in this is that the Rays managed to stockpile a stable of young arms in the 2003-2006 drafts, most of which now make up their rotation, so you have to give them a bit of a flyer on this one. Besides Townsend, Clement is clearly the biggest bust of the top 10. He is the only player on the list to be significantly below average from this top 10. I really do think Maybin will eventually turn it around – he was drafted out of HS, he is only 23 and he was really rushed to the majors by the Marlins. Clement is going to be 27 in August and has never shown any ability to hit MLB pitching – heck, he has been so bad that he was demoted to the minors by the PIRATES, one of the worst hitting teams in the majors.

How bad of a pick was Clement overall? Here is the worst of the first round (only guys who have played in the majors):

Player	Draft Position	Team	WAR	OPS+/ERA+	Current Team
Jeff Clement	3	Mariners	-1.3	74	Indianapolis (AAA)
Trevor Crowe	14	Indians	-0.5	75	Indians
Cesar Carrillo	18	Padres	-1.1	29	Portland (AAA)
Craig Hansen	26	Red Sox	-2.2	73	Out of Baseball
Ryan Tucker	34	Marlins	-1.3	53	New Orleans (AAA)
Trevor Bell	37	Angels	-1.5	55	Angels
Luke Hochevar	40*	Dodgers	-0.8	77	Royals
Garrett Olson	48	Orioles	-2.4	69	Mariners

Note: Hochevar did not sign with the Dodgers and was the #1 overall pick in 2006 by the Royals

Not the worst WAR of the group, but considering that the top 10 average WAR is somewhere north of 5, and he is the 3^rd overall pick, I will say his pick was a disaster. You can make the argument that he at least made the majors, 15 of the first rounders from that draft did not, although about 5 of those 15 were drafted out of high school, are 23 years old and still have a pretty good shot at making the majors in some capacity. Also, all of the players on this list, except for Crowe and Clement, are pitchers.

I do think it is funny that Zduriencik traded Clement, who is probably the biggest bust of the hitters in the 1st round of the 2005 draft and worked to get Garrett Olson who has been one of the worst pitchers to come out of the 2005 first round.

Source: Baseball-Reference.com

When Life Hands You Chicken Breast…

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I promised a recipe for the leftover chicken breast from the Chicken Soup recipe, so here it is – my take on my grandmother’s chicken salad, which, as much as I try, will always be better in my heart. The original recipe involved grating all of the veggies, using the chicken breast from making soup and never included bacon salt (wasn’t invented yet), balsamic vinegar or garlic powder (she used minced garlic, which, is too overpowering for this dish). She would have thought it weird that I would be writing a recipe for this, so I am sorry grandma. When I learned to make this from her, she never measured anything and neither have I until this point. It is all about tasting everything until it tastes right (or good, there is no right or wrong on this meal). Nothing that she made came with a recipe, if you wanted to learn to make something she made, it was by being in the kitchen with her and tasting and feeling as you went. Sadly, she passed a few years ago, but fortunately, just about all of her cooking wisdom was passed down to her children and grandchildren. This is also one of Mrs. Iron Chef’s favorites.

The Software
1 chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 large carrot finely minced
1 large stalk celery, finely minced
2 tablespoon finely minced yellow onion
1 tablespoon bacon salt
1 tablespoons mustard powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
3 tablespoons mayo (see note)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (see note)

• Note – when I say tablespoon for the mayo and teaspoon for the mustard, I am not talking about the measurements, I am talking about the spoons you would find in your silverware drawer. I just take 3 big scoops of mayo and 1 big teaspoon of mustard. If I had to guess measurements, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1 1/2 tablespoons (the measurement) of mustard.

The Salad
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, carrot, celery and onion.

The Dressing
This is a salad, so you are making a salad dressing essentially. In a bowl, combine the mayo, mustard, mustard powder, bacon salt, garlic powder and balsamic vinegar. Mix until well incorporated. Taste it. Add any additional seasoning as needed.

The Final Product
Add the dressing and fold using a spatula. Taste it. There should be a subtle hint of heat from the onions and mustard. I usually will add a few grinds of black pepper and, if needed, some salt and fold that in. That is it, you are done. If for some reason you like more dressing, just make some more and add it in. This is pretty potent stuff and you are really looking more to coat everything rather than drown it.

To Serve
Serve it however you want – on a sandwich, salad, or my favorite, just out of the bowl with a spoon.

Final Notes
It took me longer to type this up than it did to make. This dish really shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to put together. You can not add the bacon salt (if you don’t put it in there, you might need to add salt later) if you choose. Of course if you don’t add the bacon salt, you could always add some real crumbled bacon to it, because, frankly, everything is better with bacon. The mustard powder is really essential for the right flavor, but if you don’t have any, and aren’t able to stop what you are doing and run out to get some, double the amount of Dijon. It won’t be the same, but it will still be edible. If you find yellow onions too strong, try substituting sweet or Walla Walla onions or even scallions. At various times, I have added in hot sauce, horse radish, worcestershire sauce, paprika and a bunch of other stuff I am probably forgetting. Feel free to play with your seasonings. Make it taste the way you want – grandma would just be happy that you are eating it.