R.I.P.: Entertainers That Passed Away in 2017

Screencap of Tom Petty from the music video for "Don't Come Around Here No More"

As with every year, entertainers who have brought some sort of joy to your life pass away. This year was no different. In fact, there were some big names that passed away this year.

I bring you a list of the top 10 celebrity deaths that hit me the hardest. This is not to take away from those I don't mention below. For everyone, this list can be different and in a year crappy year like 2017, I could have easily made this list longer than 10 names. People like Nelsan Ellis, Chester Bennington, Mary Tyler Moore, Michael Parks, Robert Guillaume, and Malcolm Young could have made this list in any other year.

Rest in Peace to following 10 entertainers who made big impacts on me. (in no particular order)

1. Chris Cornell - This death was a big one for me. Chris Cornell was the front man for Soundgarden and eventually went on to Audioslave. Much of his music could have been the soundtrack for my high school and college years. He was behind hit songs such as "Black Hole Sun", "Blow Up the Outside World", "I Am the Highway", and much more. He was nominated for 15 Grammy Awards and had won twice, but his impact on the rock music world was substantial.

2. Fats Domino - Newer generations of music fans may not appreciate Fats Domino's impact on rock and roll, but he did sell over 65 million records before his passing this year. His hits include "Blueberry Hill", "Ain't That a Shame", and "I'm Walkin'". He was one of the premier piano players of his time and had a voice that went perfectly with the music he played. Because of his music achievements, rock and roll, blues, and R&B were forever changed.

3. Tom Petty - Tom Petty took music to another level. He not only recognized that the music was important, but during the time of MTV's music video domination, he also put out some of the best music videos of his time. His music was great for road trips and cruising the California coast. Selling over 80 million records, Petty was one of the best selling music artists of all-time. His hits include "Runnin' Down a Dream", "Refugee", and "I Won't Back Down". His music video for "Don't Come Around Here No More" is perhaps one of the best music videos ever produced.

4. Hugh Hefner - Not necessarily an entertainer himself, Hefner did contribute to igniting the sexual revolution via Playboy. He also hosted Playboy After Dark which opened the door to entertainers who may have never got a chance to make it in the mainstream. A popular joke, "I only read the magazine for its articles," was not necessarily untrue. Playboy featured interviews with political and civil rights leaders, featured short stories by legendary writers such as Hunter S. Thompson and Truman Capote, and more.

5. Jerry Lewis - Lewis was the slapstick comedian who partnered with Dean Martin to form the comedy duo of Martin & Lewis. Unfortunately, they ended up splitting up. Lewis didn't let this hurt his career as he moved on to star in movies such as The Nutty Professor, King of Comedy, and The Bellboy. Later on, he would become known for his telethons that raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

6. Adam West - Quite simply, Adam West was Batman for children who grew up from 1966 until the release of Tim Burton's movie. Yes, his portrayal was campy, but it was supposed to be. A Western actor before his three-year stint as the Caped Crusader, West would eventually become forever adored by comic book geeks all over the world.

7. Roger Moore - Not the best actor to portray James Bond, Moore was still a prominent enough actor to be knighted by the British Empire. His stint as 007 was longer than any other actor including Sean Connery and Pierce Bronson. He starred in Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, and The Spy Who Loved Me.

8. Don Rickles - Quite possibly the biggest entertainer death this year for me besides Adam West, Rickles was one of the last surviving unofficial members of the Rat Pack. His comedy made him a favorite and close friend to Frank Sinatra. So close, that Rickles was one of the last people to see Sinatra alive. He made over 100 appearances on the Tonight Show and rounded out his career by taking on voice acting roles in movies such as Toy Story. He can easily be argued as being one of the top standup comedians of all-time.

9. Chuck Berry - Another legendary rock musician, Berry was a member of the Chess Records stable. His hits include "Johnny B. Goode", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Rock and Roll Music", and "Maybellene". His guitar skills were unmatched at the time of his peak. His music was so significant that his song "Johnny B. Goode" is the only rock song that was included in the Voyager Golden Records that were sent to space and intended to be listened to by any future intelligent life forms to listen to.

10. Powers Boothe - Gaining notoriety for playing TV Detective Phillip Marlowe, Booth went on to play Curly Bill in Tombstone, Cy Tolliver in Deadwood, and Senator Roark in the Sin City movies. Nominated for various acting roles, Boothe was both an underrated actor and a star actor during his lifetime.

2018 Millhouse Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

Vladimir Guerrero swings at a pitch that bounced before hitting it for a double

Another year goes by and the Baseball Writers Association of America nears another vote for the Major League Hall of Fame. The new class features a couple of possible future hall of famers, but it's those who still are eligible from previous seasons that may demand more attention.

The new class of players that are first-time eligible include Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones, Johan Santana, Jamie Moyer, Johnny Damon, Omar Vizquel, and more. Players from previous years that are still eligible include Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Mussina, Manny Ramirez, Larry Walker, and more.

Despite the many choices, the BBWAA seems to be able to only agree on one or two players for the last several years despite each member possessing the ability to vote for up to 10 former players. 

I may not be a member of the BBWAA, but I give to you my votes for this year's ballot. Hopefully, other BBWAA members will act rationally and forget their biases against players that they did not like personally or want to accuse of using performance-enhancing drugs with no proof.

1. Trevor Hoffman - Hoffman retired as the all-time saves leader, yet has been passed over twice so far. He received 74 percent of the vote last year. With 601 saves and a career ERA of 2.87, it seems beyond belief on how the BBWAA has passed him over, especially in an ERA when relief pitching has become predominant.

2. Vladimir Guerrero - Passed over last season, Vladimir Guerrero spent his career as one of the more feared hitters in the MLB. He hit 449 homers, had 181 stolen bases, a .318 batting average, and a cannon for an arm. Sure, he swung at everything, but he also hit everything. It is feasible that Guerrero is the last former Montreal Expo to be inducted to the hall if he is voted in.

3. Roger Clemens - Arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all-time is now up for his sixth go-around. 354 wins, a career ERA of 3.12, and 4,672 strikeouts. He's won 7 Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, is 9th all-time in wins, and 3rd all-time in strikeouts. His fastball inspired the nickname, Rocket. Accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, the biggest argument that voters are writing about is not the pharmaceutical help the claim he had, but the fact that they just thought he was an ass of a human being. There's nothing in the rules saying that attitude is a determining factor for the hall. The articles of late cite Roger Clemens cheating on his wife with country music star, Mindy McCready and incidents like his toe-to-toe confrontation with Mike Piazza. If that is enough not to be inducted to the hall of fame, then players like Ty Cobb should be booted out as he may have killed two people and attacked a handicapped spectator during a game. Is Clemens an angel? No. Is he a hall of famer? Yes.

4. Barry Bonds - The other legend the BBWAA is holding a grudge against, Bonds is arguably one of the best hitters of all-time. He has the most homers of all-time with 762; 514 stolen bases; 1,996 RBI's (fifth of all-time); the most walks taken at 2,558; and the most intentional walks ever issued at 688. He also holds the single season record in homers with 73. He has won 7 MVP's, 8 Gold Gloves, and 12 Silver Sluggers. If other players such as Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell can be inducted to the hall of fame despite the accusations of performance enhancing drugs, Bonds should be eligible as well. No one seems to hold the admitted use of "greenies" by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays against them, so it even seems more unfair that Bonds should be held out of the hall for the accusations against him.

5. Fred McGriff - Silent in terms of headlines, McGriff was a scary hitter to face. He hit 493 homers, had a .284 career batting average, and drove in 1,550 career RBI's. Even though he played first base at the same time as Jeff Bagwell, Will Clark, John Kruk, Will Grace, and Andres Galarraga, McGriff still won three Silver Sluggers. If McGriff played in any other generation, he would be considered a hall of famer. What's even better, he's one of the few power hitters not accused of taking any PED's. 

6. Mike Mussina - Other than his rookie year, Mussina was a double digit winner in every season he ever played, retiring after winning 20 games in his last season. Mussina won 270 wins overall and had 2,813 career strikeouts. He was a top six candidate for the Cy Young Award 8 times in his career, but Mussina never placed better than second. He had also won 7 Gold Gloves during his career. Mussina was the ace for the Yankees and Orioles during his career and is worthy of hall consideration.

7. Billy Wagner - Able to reach 100 MPH on the radar, Wagner is sixth all-time in career saves with 422. That is only two less than the all-time lefty saves leader, John Franco. Wagner dominated as a closer and was one of the most feared relievers of all-time. His career ERA is 2.31, his career WHIP is 0.998, and a career strikeouts-per-9-innings of 11.9. Not once in Wagner's career did he ever have an ERA over 3.00 in a full season. 

8. Chipper Jones - This should be proof that the BBWAA should be able to vote for a player to make it to the hall, even if they don't like them. I'm not a fan of Chipper, but he is hall of fame worthy and he receives one of my 10 votes. Jones hit 468 career homers, had a career batting average of .303, and an on base percentage of .401. He also had 1,623 career RBI's. Jones won the MVP award in 1999 and led the National League with a .364 batting average in 2008. Like McGriff, Jones played at the same time as other top level third basemen such as Scott Rolen, Matt Williams, Robin Ventura, Ken Caminiti, and David Wright. This caused him not to get as much attention as being a star player at his position. 

9. Jim Thome - A power hitter who finished his career with 612 homers, in 22 seasons Thome never won an MVP award and only won one Silver Slugger. Despite being known for his power, Thome also only led the league once in homers. Still, Thome drove in 1,699 career RBI's and is 7th all-time in walks taken. He was often the left-handed power hitter that protected other all-stars such as Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Paul Konerko, and more. 

10. Gary Sheffield - The nephew of Dwight Gooden, Sheffield hit 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. Sporting a .292 career batting average, Sheffield won five Silver Sluggers and was the cleanup hitter on the Florida Marlins team that defeated the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in 1997. Sheffield was also in the top 10 in MVP votes 6 times in his career. Sheffield also played at least 300 games at third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. This will be Sheffield's fourth attempt at being voted in.

Black Friday Consumes Thanksgiving

The logical thing to do after stuffing your face full of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie is to hibernate for a good 10 plus hours or so. Somehow, in the last 20 years, retail businesses lured family away from their homes and into lines to get into their stores. 

Need an extra 15 percent off of a television you don't really need that badly? Eat dinner early and stand in Best Buy's line for five hours while waiting for them to open. Worse, once they open, you find out that they only had two of those televisions and you're now in a mad dash to beat eight other people to that television. Just remember...no one talks about fight club.

To compound the problem, brick and mortar stores are now whining about online stores drawing these customers away. At least with the online stores such as Amazon, you don't have to be pulled away from your family on holidays to save five dollars. I'm not saying that brick and mortar stores need to go away, but it is hard to feel sympathy for businesses that don't allow for people to spend the holidays with their family so they can make two percent more in their overall fourth quarter sales than they would have if they had just opened during normal hours on "Black Friday". 

Is employee morale really worth that two percent? When you consider higher turnover rates and being less attractive to new potential employees, two percent is nothing. Turnover and training cost a company more than two-percent. Reputation on how a company treats their employees causes them to lose potentially stellar recruits.

The problem with retail businesses today is that they rarely think in long-term parameters anymore. They'll gladly sacrifice a potentially long-term customer to make a few extra bucks today. This is why Black Friday turning into Black Thursday and ruining some family's Thanksgiving holidays has come about. Businesses are determined to steal that extra dollar from their competition by beating them to the sale.

But from the standpoint of the common person who doesn't work in retail, is Black Thursday really worth it? Yes, it may get you out of those awkward conversations about politics that you may find yourself in with your Uncle Buck after he's been able to down several beers. What about the positive experiences from family get-togethers? Days such as Thanksgiving give some kids their warm memories that they revere so much in their adult years.

This is not necessarily a rant against Black Friday. It's more of a call out to those who shop on Thursday evening to save a few extra dollars for something they probably didn't need anyways. Without you, the consumer, willing to sacrifice precious family time and memories, retail businesses wouldn't deem it necessary nor profitable to be open on a major holiday. Rather than unwittingly punching your child's gym teacher in the face to grab the last discounted Blu-Ray player, spend it with your family and purchase it on Black Friday or one of the other days that come before Christmas.

2017 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse; AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt

The World Series is all tied up and it looks like it will be a promising end to the 2017 season. For those who remember the 2017 Millhouse MLB predictions, I had the Houston Astros winning it all. Looks like I could be right. With that said, let's take a look at the Millhouse award-winning players for the 2017 season.

American League:

MVP - Aaron Judge: In fairness, this was an extremely close vote for me. On any given day, Jose Altuve could have been the MVP. For me, Judge wins this by a hair. He led the American League in home runs, breaking the rookie record in the process. He led the league in runs scored, was second in RBI's, hit .284, had the highest on-base percentage among players who played over 120 games, and even had nine stolen bases. Judge even played above average defense.

Trust me, this was a hard vote for me. Altuve led the league in batting average, hit 24 homers, 81 RBI's, and was third in the league in stolen bases.

Also, if Mike Trout had been able to play a complete season, he may have made this a three-way tie for the MVP race.

Cy Young - Corey Kluber: At the mid-season point, it looked like Chris Sale would take this award. Unfortunately for Sale, his ERA went north of three after the all-star break and Kluber became the favorite. An 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.25. He also only allowed hitters a batting average of .193 and combined this with a WHIP of 0.87. 

Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge: This should be a no-brainer since he won my MVP award. Although in any other season, Andrew Benintendi, Matt Olsen, and Trey Mancini would have been favorites in the race.

Manager of the Year - Paul Molitor: While A.J. Hinch would seem like the favorite on the surface, Molitor did more with less. The Twins weren't even thought to be in the hunt for a playoff spot before the season started. They ended up taking second place in the Central, only losing out to the Indians. The Twins organization even traded away players before the trade deadline and they still made a race for the playoffs.

Fireman of the Year - Craig Kimbrel: He had 12 fewer saves than the AL leader, Alex Colome, but Kimbrel had a 0.68 WHIP, allowed a .140 batting average, and had 126 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Breakout Player - Marwin Gonzalez: On the verge of being pushed out of the roster, Gonzalez became a super-utility player. He can play almost every position except catcher and pitcher. He also found himself hittin 23 homers with over a .300 batting average.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Gary Sanchez; 1B - Jose Abreu; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Francisco Lindor; OF - Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, George Springer; DH - Nelson Cruz

The Aces: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Dallas Keuchel, Ervin Santana

National League:

MVP - Giancarlo Stanton: Aaron Judge's national league counterpart, Giancarlo "Don't call me Mike" Stanton hit 59 homers while hitting .281. He also scored 123 runs and drove in 132 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado put up a good race too, but Stanton was by and far the best hitter this season in the National League.

Cy Young - Matt Scherzer: Edging out Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer had a better WHIP, stuck out more hitters, and his batting average against was lower than the Dodgers' ace. Scherzer was second in the league with a 2.51 ERA and had a record of 16-6.

Rookie of the Year - Cody Bellinger: Judge wasn't the only rookie breaking a rookie record for homers. Bellinger broke the National League rookie record for homers with 39. 

Manager of the Year - Torey Lovullo: Lovullo led the Diamondbacks to 93 wins, giving the Dodgers a run for their money at one point. Not a team that should have made the playoffs, Lovullo managed to get the best out of his players that were ready to break out. Paul Goldschmidt was joined by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and David Peralta, in giving opposing pitchers problems.

Fireman of the Year - Kenley Jensen: He converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities, had a 0.75 WHIP, and allowed hitters a .177 ERA. Jensen edged out Cory Knebel of the Brewers who had similar numbers and more strikeouts. 

Breakout Player - Scooter Gennett: A good hitting second baseman who showed potential for being a .300 hitter, Gennett hit 27 homers, something no one foresaw.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Wilson Contreras; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Scooter Gennett; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zach Cozart; OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; Pitcher - Madison Bumgarner

The Aces: Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Stephen Strasburg

R.I.P. Hugh Hefner: More than just the Founder of Playboy

Hugh Hefner has died. It seems sort of odd to write this because he was one of those people that seemed like they would live forever. In a way, he will. 

While the man himself has fallen, the legacy he left behind impacted the world in the twentieth century and even into the twenty-first century. Sure, some will condemn him for what they see as peddling smut and the man had his faults as every legend in their industry has. 

Hefner left behind a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. His legacy is more than being the founder of one of the most famous magazines in history, although his magazine did contribute to igniting the flame of the sexual revolution. 

He fought against censorship, donating money to various organizations and causes that promoted first amendment rights.

An animal lover, Hefner donated to various causes that raised money for animal rescues. 

During the sixties, Hefner was a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He once stated that he never understood why people would judge others solely based on their skin color. Playboy magazine published the last written essay by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

When his Playboy Clubs opened up at locations such as New Orleans, Hefner personally fought against those who cited Jim Crow laws that attempted to prevent African-Americans from entering his clubs alongside Caucasians. 

On his TV show, Playboy's Penthouse, which aired in the late fifties to the early sixties, Hefner invited African-American entertainers to appear on his show despite the public outcry of doing so. Guests included Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Hefner supported legalizing same-sex marriage, stating that it was a right of all people to marry the person they love.

He donated money to universities to better sociology, film, and humanities departments.

A student at my university who attended at the same I did, supported herself through stripping at a local club. Admittedly, not her preferential choice to raise money, but she had no support system to help her through college and her financial aid package was limited in what it paid for. She needed to pay for books, room and board, and the basic necessities that any young adult needs. When my university found out how she was supporting herself, she lost her financial aid package. Hefner, hearing about the situation as it made local news in Southern California, paid for her college and living expenses for the rest of her college career.

With Playboy, Hefner published short stories by notable authors such as Ian Fleming, Arthur C. Clarke, and Margaret Atwood. His magazine would often interview notable people such as politicians, social activists, religious leaders, journalists, and more. 

Finally, after decades of not receiving one cent from the revival of her images, Hefner helped Bettie Page secure representation to help her from dying penniless. Hefner even paid for Page's bills until she was able to land on her feet. And this wasn't the only former Playmate that he helped during their rough times.

On the surface, he will be remembered for his girlfriends, magazine, the mansion, and the smoking jacket, but he was much more than that. He was far from perfect, but overall he left a positive impact that helped propel society forward in the twentieth century, vaulting him into being a legend.

Pet Peeve #7,101: Selfie Finger Pointing

Since selfies gained popularity with the rise of social media, there have been tons of trends that have formed while taking the selfie. The duck-face may be the most mocked, yet people still do it. Holding the camera above your head and shooting downward has assisted people to look skinnier than they really are. Then we come to one that people do and in my belief, don't get mocked enough for...the selfie/photo pose in which the people in the photo point at each other.

Why?

I ask why do so? Was the photo taken only a second before the other guy jumped into and you just realized who he or she is? Do the people in the photo not realize until the last second that someone is in the photo with them? Are they pointing at the other person, signaling to the photographer to take a picture of them instead? Is it one of those moments where you point at the guy and say, "Hey...it's you," because you forgot their name and at that moment the photo was taken? Are you hoping that the other guy will pull your finger so you can let out a giant fart?

It seems unnecessary and for some reason is popping up in more and more photos.

Stop it!

There's no need to point a finger during a photo. Presumably, people can see you're in a photo with someone else.

So, stop it!

Could you imagine a photo with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin pointing at each other at the Yalta Conference? No? That's because it's unnecessary and there is no reason for it.

Just stop it!

Millhouse Awards: MLB First Half Awards

Mike Trout photo by Daniel Millhouse

Another season goes by seemingly faster than ever before. It didn't seem that long ago when people just knew the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies were going to be bad and that the Chicago Cubs would be awesome again thanks to the arms of Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Then the season began and everything we knew turned upside down.

Mike Trout and Adrian Gonzalez both went down with injuries and in their places, two rookies, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger rose and took their respective leagues by storm.

So, I now give to you the Millhouse first half of the season awards for Major League Baseball.

American League:
MVP: Aaron Judge - It should be no surprise that the rookie right fielder for the Yankees has taken the MLB by surprise. He's only a few big hits from leading the MLB in the triple crown categories, runs scored, and even has a bit of unexpected speed to boot. Judge broke the Yankees rookie homerun record set by Joe DiMaggio within the first half of the season. He also just won the homerun derby without breaking a sweat. Judge may give Mike Trout future competition for the American League MVP on a yearly basis.
Cy Young: Chris Sale - This was a close call between Sale and Jason Vargas. The edge goes to Sale because even though he has one less win than Vargas and is second to Vargas' first place hold on ERA, Sale has 100 strikeouts more and a better WHIP as well. The Chicago White Sox better hope that Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech turn out to be stars or their trade of Sale to the Boston Red Sox might look very one-sided.
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge - This also shouldn't be a surprise. There hasn't been a rookie hitter that has made this much of an impact on their team in years.
Fireman of the Year: Brandon Kintzler - This one is a surprise, especially since so many people thought the Minnesota Twins would be a flop this season. Kintzler wasn't even originally thought to be the Twins main closer during Spring Training. Second in the AL in saves, Kintzler has a better ERA and WHIP than the Rays' Alex Colome.
AL All-Star Team: C - Salvador Perez; 1B - Justin Smoak; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Carlos Correa; OF - Aaron Judge, George Springer, Avisail Garcia; DH - Nelson Cruz; SP - Jason Vargas, Chris Sale, Lance McCullers Jr, Corey Kluber, and Ervin Santana; RP - Brandon Kintzler

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt - He goes out and proves he's the best first baseman in the MLB everyday without a whole lot of fanfare. Goldy is ninth in the league in batting average and homers, but he also leads the league in runs scored, is eighth in stolen bases, and is second in the league for on base percentage. Goldy may not get as much press as Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant, but he has quietly had the most solid season so far in the National League.
Cy Young: Max Scherzer - Some may make the argument that Clayton Kershaw deserves this award, but they'd be wrong. While Kershaw has four more wins than Scherzer, the Nationals ace leads the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. He's been consistently more dominant than Kershaw has been this season.
Rookie of the Year: Cody Bellinger is the clear runaway for this award. Not even originally supposed to be a starter this season, Bellinger has made the most of his playing time after Adrian Gonzalez went down. What has been even more surprising is the power that Bellinger has shown. There doesn't appear to be another rookie in the National League that could challenge Bellinger for the overall season award.
Fireman of the Year: Greg Holland - Taking a flyer on Holland's comeback, the Rockies have been rewarded with Holland's 28 saves in the first half of the season. This is on top of his 1.62 ERA and a stellar WHIP.
NL All-Star Team: C - Buster Posey; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Daniel Murphy; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zack Cosart; OF - Bryce Harper, Marcell Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; SP - Maz Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Gio Gonzalez, and Robbie Ray; RP - Greg Holland

Things I Miss from my Childhood

Image is a screencap from the computer game The Oregon Trail

As I get older, the more I'm reminded of the things I enjoyed in my youth that are no longer around...especially when I'm in an antique shop. These things may seem trivial now, but looking back, they helped shape who I am or at least entertained me for hours at end in some way.

1. Panini sticker books: I remember as a little kid, paying something close to a quarter for a pack of baseball stickers to stick on my sticker book. Similar to baseball cards, you would buy a blank album with spots on each page that were numbered. You would then buy the sticker packs and place the stickers in the correct numbered spot in your sticker book. Sort of like a sticker version of a baseball card set. What Panini did that was awesome was that they allowed you to mail in your doubles and they would randomly mail you out more stickers. I collected baseball, basketball, and football albums. I would have collected hockey if my local grocery stores offered them. Along with baseball cards, I would memorize the stats of every player I collected. What shocked me even more while writing this blog...Panini is still in business and they still make sports-related albums.

2. Blockbuster Video: In the 1990's, this was the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. Picking a movie or two to watch on your night off was a lot different than it is today. You physically had to get off your butt, go to a store, and look at multiple shelves filled with potential movies you may want to watch. On occasion, the movie you wanted to watch was rented out, but you had so many options that you usually could find something else to watch. Today, you simply click away on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or some other streaming site of your choice. The act of "searching" is no longer something that today's youth will ever get to enjoy.

3. The Oregon Trail: At a time when kids were transitioning from having to find ways to entertain themselves to playing video games, The Oregon Trail was one of the first video games that kids in my generation played. Schools would have this game installed in their DOS based computers to teach children about history, computers, and budgeting, all at the same time. That black screen, green graphic, horrible graphics game was something you looked forward to every week. It would be the day of the week that you would try your hardest not to be sick on. There are versions of this game still around, but nothing will beat the 1980's version. If you want to relive your childhood through The Oregon Trail, there are still emulators out there online that allow you to play it. On a side note, no kid will ever understand the disappointing phrase of "You have died of dysentery" like kids in the 1980's did.

4. Scholastic Book Order Forms: Kids attending public schools in the 1980's would get these mini catalogs passed out once every month to two months that would feature books that you could buy cheaply. It may have been because of this child's version of the book of the month club that I learned to enjoy reading. It was also because of this program that I learned to love and now miss the next item on this list.

5. Choose Your Own Adventure books: A series of books created by the publisher Bantam Books, a kid could read these books and have a different ending every time depending on the choices they made during the story. Big in the 1980's and 1990's, these books came in multiple genres including science-fiction, mystery, and more. I would look forward to the newest Scholastic Book Order Form to be handed out at school so I could beg for my parents to allow me to get the newest addition to the Bantam Books collection.

6. Scented Markers: Originally created to encourage you to draw more and also created during a time period where kids were presented with a vast amount of products that appealed to their ole factory senses (i.e. scratch'n'sniff stickers), these markers carried a scent that would go along with the color. A blueberry scent may have come from the blue marker. An apple scent may have come from the red marker. It's possible these markers could be the reason for so many junkies later on in life. Who knows if the chemicals that created the scent that you enjoyed sniffing were hazardous to your health. Either way, you liked drawing with these markers as a kid.

7. Elvira's Movie Macabre: No, the movies weren't A-list movies, but Elvira would introduce her audience to old horror movies from years before. The movies were often campy, but Elvira had a way of keeping them fun and giving new life to movies that would have otherwise been forgotten with time.

8. Cinnamon Toothpicks: Yes, this was a thing, at least in the early 1990's for Anaheim kids. They were toothpicks flavored like cinnamon and you would just pop them in your mouth and drain the flavor away until the toothpick became mushy. This was an actual candy for kids my age.

9. Pencil Wars: Public schools used to have small vending machines that would sell pencils that were covered in various designs. This ended up leading to a craze that would be a form of gambling. One kid would hold a pencil horizontally while the other kid took a turn and flicked this pencil with one of his own. The point was to break the pencil being held horizontally. If you did, that kid would owe you a pencil. Simple, but this was a trend in early 1990's.

Adam West is my Batman: RIP

Screen cap from Batman movie

Before there was Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, and Michael Keaton, there was Adam West. A new generation has grown up, mentally visualizing Christian Bale as their Batman. There's also plenty of argument that Bale's Batman is a more realistic portrayal of Batman. And it's a slam dunk to argue that Kevin Conroy may be the best Batman voice actor of all-time.

That said...Adam West is my Batman.

I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before Michael Keaton even wore cowl. I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before the animated series became a reality and Kevin Conroy became THE voice of Batman.

I was first exposed to Batman through Super Friends, a wannabe cartoon version of the Justice League. It wasn't until I saw the reruns of  Batman '66 that Batman became more than a passing character of interest. West's portrayal of Batman solidified the Caped Crusader as one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time.

West only played Batman for three seasons and 120 episodes, along with one movie, but that was enough to mark his place in television history. Acting in many different western movies and television shows, West was new to the comic book genre when he earned the role of Bruce Wayne. West has played Doc Holiday, Wild Bill Hickock, acted alongside Paul Newman, Chuck Connors, The Three Stooges, and guested on Perry Mason, all before he became Batman. He was a working actor and had a successful career going prior to being Batman.

After playing Batman, West became known for his voice talents, acting in animated series such as Family Guy, Rugrats, The Simpsons, SpongeBob Squarepants, and more.

No matter how you view it, West had a successful career and shouldn't have had to wait as long as he did to earn that star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With 193 screen credits to his name, I will always think of Adam West as my Batman.

Yes, he was campy.

Yes, he was cartoon-y at times.

But Adam West was my Batman and will always be.

R.I.P. Chris Cornell

Screencap of Chris Cornell seen in the music video of "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden

I was a fan since "Jesus Christ Pose" was released, but it wasn't until I first watched the video for "Black Hole Sun" that I considered Soundgarden one of my favorite bands. One of the four horsemen of the grunge music scene out of Seattle, Washington, Chris Cornell along with Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Eddie Vedder introduced the world to a flannel-wearing music revolution that would fade out after Cobain's suicide.

Unlike Staley and Cobain, Cornell evolved from the grunge music scene. Going solo, Cornell released alternative rock hits on his own, proving that he could be a star on his own without the A-list talent that made up the rest of Soundgarden. He'd won a Grammy for "Can't Change Me", but it was his solo release, "Sunshower", that made it onto the Great Expectations soundtrack that I played over and over again. For a movie that did fairly well but not great, it was accompanied by an excellent soundtrack led by Chris Cornell and included other hit artists such as Poe, Tori Amos, Scott Weiland, Iggy Pop, Verve Pipe, and Duncan Sheik. It also included the hit "Life in Mono" by Mono, yet "Sunshower" was my favorite song on that CD.

A fan of Rage Against the Machine and saddened by their breakup, I was both nervous and excited when it was announced that Chris Cornell had joined up with them to replace Zach de la Rocha and form super group, Audioslave.

Audioslave released three albums right at the time I began working in radio. I remember getting my hands on a copy of "I am the Highway" and playing it before I ever heard another radio station play it. Though there were five singles from Audioslave's self-titled album release, it was a non-hit, "Shadow of the Sun" that I would play over and over again. I always felt like this was a hit song that missed being a hit. I did feel a sense of satisfaction when the song would make it to the soundtrack of Collateral which starred Tom Cruise and Jaime Foxx. The song was used in a pivotal scene and I couldn't think of a better moment to use in that movie.

I was glad that after two more Audioslave albums, Cornell eventually found his way back with Soundgarden. No, they wouldn't cobble up hits as famous as "Black Hole Sun" or "Blow Up the Outside World", but it was still nice to hear new music.

Cobain would always remain young in our memories as he passed away at 27. Staley also remains young for about the same reason, though a little older than Cobain when he passed. Cornell was the one that aged, yet didn't appear to physically grown old. Maybe he was part-vampire, but whatever the reason, he looked almost the same as the day he appeared in the music video for "Black Hole Sun".

Cornell may have died last night at the age of 52, but he will always remain the same rock icon that I enjoyed listening while he jammed out to Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Soundgarden, and in his solo work.

Extra Innings

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Seattle Mariners infield

Unlike many other sports, Major League Baseball has never settled for a tie game in regulation or postseason play. It's just not done. It's not baseball and it's not American. Baseball fans do not accept ties like fans of soccer, hockey, and even NFL football after a quarter of overtime.

With the Yankees versus the Cubs game that aired on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball going 18 innings, there was discussion amongst even the broadcasters that the MLB should not allow games to go so long.

Suggestions have been made in recent years to prevent baseball games from going past 12 innings. The MLB also tested the idea of putting runners on first and second with no outs beginning in the 11th inning of a game. This was done during the World Baseball Classic this year to hasten the end of a game.

In the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan), the KBO League (Korea), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League, all games are to be considered a draw if there is no winner after 12 innings. In postseason play, this extends to fifteen innings. What's worse is that the games have a time limit of three and a half hours. While their games are fun to watch, there's still the feeling of being let down when one of their games ends in a tie.

For those that remember, the 2002 MLB All-Star game ended in a tie, causing outrage amongst the fans that paid hundreds of dollars to be at the game and amongst those watching on television who were hoping to watch the best players in the game play.

The thing is that games going into extra innings contain even more drama as the game goes on. Every error, every base hit, every ball, could cost or earn a team a win. Why limit this drama with a time limit? Or an innings limit?

Let's use the Yankees versus Cubs game as example. Going 18 innings deep, we got to see the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game be broken.

Relief pitcher Chasen Shreve got a chance to bat for the first time in his professional career.

Pitchers Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, and John Lackey were used as pitch-hitters after the Cubs ran out of healthy position players to play.

Kyle Schwarber diving over the brick wall and into the stands to catch a ball in the 12th inning.

Cubs players developed new forms of rally motivators beyond the "rally caps". This included rally helmets, sprinkling the field with gum and sunflower seeds, players wearing catchers masks, and eventually players wearing helmets backwards.

The umpires running out of baseballs, causing the Cubs equipment manager to open up a new box of baseballs.

Is this normal? No, obviously not. What it is though is a storied moment for the fans and players alike. It's a moment that people will remember for years to come, unlike a game that last nine innings and may be one of many that a fan or player is part of. It gives the game character and that feeling that anything can happen.

Is a game that ends in a tie or comes to an end due to time limits as memorable as an 18 inning game? Of course not.

Leave baseball the way it is and stop trying to change it. Baseball is not a game that should be "clocked" or limited. There should be no ties. Baseball is a game that should have clear winner at the end of the day and should not leave the fan feeling gypped when a game ends in a tie.

Bettie Page's 94th Birthday; Still Hasn't Aged

One of Irving Klaw's surviving Bettie Page photos

On this date, 94 years ago, Bettie Mae Page was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Nearly a hundred years later and Bettie is still known as being the queen of pinups. This hasn't always been true though.

For many years, Bettie's photos were mainly found "underground" and through publications meant for adults only. Also, Bettie didn't start her modeling career as early as many other models did.

At 27-years-old, Bettie had a Bachelor of Arts degree, was working her way through life as a secretary, and was living in New York. Despite the Average-Jane start, Bettie wanted to be an actress. Bettie is said to have gone on multiple auditions, but is never chosen for a part on the big screen.

Instead, while walking on a Coney Island beach, a NYPD cop named Jerry Tibbs met Bettie and offered to shoot her...not with a gun, but with his camera. Tibbs was a amateur photographer on the side and a member of photography clubs that were often a cover for pornography shoots. Tibbs was also the one that suggested to Bettie that she style her hair with what would eventually become her signature look, bangs that draped over her forehead.

Eventually she met Irving and Paula Klaw and moved into modeling with BDSM themes. This is when those in mainstream media referred to Bettie as being the queen of bondage, which confused Bettie herself. She had only done this type of modeling between 1952-1957 for the Klaws.

She also went on to model in beach-style photography for fellow model Bunny Yeager. It would be Yeager who would send in photos to Hugh Hefner for Playboy. Hefner selected a photo of Bettie a made her the Playmate of the Month in a 1955 issue.

What many people don't know is that by 1957, Bettie stopped modeling. Her legendary modeling career only spanned approximately seven years.

An underground following began in the 1970's, and artist Olivia De Beradinis often used Bettie's likeness for her artwork. Bettie herself was unaware that she actually had gained mainstream fame beginning in the 1980's, about 30 years after she retired from modeling.

Bettie made it a point not to let her current image be seen in public. This probably added to the mystique of Bettie and the forever youthful images that the public knows her by. Like other celebrities who died young such as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, Bettie would never grow old in the public's eye.

There would even be more images of Bettie out there if it weren't for Irving Klaw burning a large portion of the photos and negatives he had of her to avoid being arrested for his photoshoots he had with Bettie and other models.

Bettie did eventually appear on some off Broadway productions and on television on The Jackie Gleason Show. These opportunities came after her modeling career began with the Klaws and one has to wonder if people such as Jackie Gleason may have been aware of Bettie's risqué modeling.

During a 2003 Playboy event, Bettie allowed herself to be publically photographed for the first time in years. Eighty-years-old at that point, Bettie is bookended by Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith.

Bettie passed away in 2008.

To this day, her estate is consistently one of the top 10 earners for dead celebrities and she is known as one of the world's most famous models.

Bettie's work would go on to inspire other celebrities such as Madonna, Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyoncé, NCIS's Pauly Perette, and more.

Coors Water is not so Rocky Mountain High

Photo is of Coors Light logo

"...brewed with pure Rocky Mountain spring water."

Heard that phrase before? If you're an adult, someone who watches television, or just been an American in the last few decades, you've probably heard this catch phrase numerous times through advertisements for Coors beers. Hell, Coors Light even has "Rocky Mountains" right on their can that turn blue to tell the consumer that the beer is cold.

But ask yourself, if Coors Light is the second most consumed beer in America, are they able to bottle all those beers in the Rocky Mountains alone? Or course not.

Albany, Georgia; Irwindale, California; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Trenton, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin are all bottling plant locations for various styles of Coors beers beyond the Golden, Colorado plant. Not exactly cities that give you the mental picture as having the same quality water as the Rocky Mountains.

If you take a tour at a Coors owned facility, they don't like when you ask questions such as, "Do you guys truck in the water from the Rocky Mountains?" You will get a dirty look. I can attest to this personally.

Now, I'm not saying that Coors had to advertise that they use water from Fort Worth, Texas, which may conjure up images of cow-fields and manure, but saying they use Rocky Mountain water is a misleading image that they plant in their potential customers heads.

That's not to say they're the only beer company that does this. A beer I like, Blue Moon, comes off as being a "craft beer" even though it is mass produced and released all over the country as well. Oh wait, Blue Moon is made by MillerCoors, parent company to Coors beers. That said, it's not uncommon for beer companies to mislead their customer base, but being the second most consumed beer in America means that MillerCoors may be one of the biggest perpetrators of misleading their customer base. 

Now if you like the Coors brand beers, go head, keep drinking them up (responsibly), but for those of us, such as myself, who live in Southern California, just know that you're probably drinking pure Irwindale water and not Rocky Mountain spring water.

Rickles' RIP

A comedy legend passed away this morning, but what most people probably don't realize is that Don Rickles was one of the last living unofficial members of the Rat Pack.

A mainstay in Las Vegas stand-up comedy for years, Rickles gained popularity performing what is known as insult comedy. He didn't care who it was that he ribbed. Rickles would poke fun at the average Joe and even the biggest of celebrities. In a Miami nightclub, he spotted Frank Sinatra and poked the future pack master of the Rat Pack. Some were scared of how Sinatra would take it, but Sinatra knew Rickles did it all in the name of laughter and didn't actually hate the people he "insulted".

From then on, Sinatra would often call on Rickles to be by his side, even asking Rickles to open up for himself and other Rat Packers in Las Vegas at the peak of their fame.

Rickles would often be seen on many classic television shows such as The Addams Family, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, and on one of his best friend's (Don Adams) shows, Get Smart. 

He was also a frequent guest on talk shows. Before either one hit it big, he often would appear on Larry King's late night radio show in the Miami area. The two would remain friends for life.

Another fellow unofficial member of the Rat Pack, Johnny Carson, had Rickles on his show over 100 times. At times Rickles even guest hosted the Tonight Show.

Years later, Rickles found himself excited to be cast as a pit boss in the mafia movie, Casino. He loved to rib Robert DeNiro in front of the others and even Scorsese about the amount of lines he had in the film.

A short time later, he was approached to voice Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story. At first, he was reluctant to do so, not believing himself to be kid-friendly and unsure about an acting role that he couldn't be physically seen in, but he took the part anyway. When the movie debuted and became an instant success, Rickles stated that he called John Lasseter right away, asking when the sequel would go into production.

He also performed for royalty and presidents during his lifetime. He was even "ribbed" himself by Barbara Bush who asked why he performed in the Frankie and Annette beach party movies when he had so much success.

Rickles continued to work into his 80's. He never felt the need to retire.

As for me, I loved Rickles' comedy because I knew he never was mean spirited. In some ways, I feel like I have secretly jinxed him as I literally finished reading his autobiography, Rickles' Book, last night, only hours before his death.

There's almost the desire to say that there won't be another comedian like him, but then I would be lying. He was just the godfather of his style of comedy. It would be hard to find a comedian with as much history under their belt as Rickles had, but because of him, comedians such as Ian Bagg, Dave Attell, Louis C.K., and more can do what they do today.

2017 Millhouse MLB Predictions

Former Lake Elsinore Storm player, Hunter Renfroe, looks to take the NL Rookie of the Year.

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

A new season is nearing and it's that time of the year again for the Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions. Often half-right, but still worth checking out, some of these predictions give me bragging rights for the following season and in some cases for life.

American League:
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Seattle Mariners, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's. The Astros will continue to gain momentum as they have for the past few years. Remember when Sports Illustrated had that cover that proclaimed the Astros the 2017 World Series champs in 2014? Well, they were far off. The Astros will win the division while teams like the A's will wonder where they went wrong.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Detroit Tigers, 4. Chicago White Sox, 5. Minnesota Twins. The Indians will come out strong as their pitching staff will help guide them along with their new additions such as Edwin Encarnacion. At the start of the off-season, the Tigers had potential to leap-frog past the Royals and contend with the Indians, but they didn't do a whole lot to grow their team. Instead, the Tigers' veterans are just another year older and a little bit more frail.

AL East: 1. Boston Red Sox, 2. Toronto Blue Jays, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Baltimore Orioles, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays. If the Red Sox can stay healthy and play at least an average level of defense, then they could bounce back and take the East. They could see some competition from the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have a roster that could potentially take the division, but this is probably too dependent on their veterans staying healthy (they already have an injury to Didi Gregorius) and for their youngsters to prove themselves.

Wildcard Teams: Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays

League Champion: Houston Astros

AL Awards: MVP - Manny Machado; Cy Young - Chris Sale; Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge; Manager of the Year - A.J. Hinch; Fireman of the Year (closer) - Craig Kimbrel

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Gary Sanchez; 1B: Miguel Cabrera; 2B: Jose Altuve; 3B: Manny Machado; SS: Carlos Correa; OF: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Davis; DH: Nelson Cruz

Most Interesting Stories for the AL:
1. Will the Houston Astros live up to Sports Illustrated's 2014 prediction that they will be the 2017 World Series champs?
2. If the White Sox don't win this year, will we see players such as David Robertson, Jose Quintana, and even Jose Abreu on the move?
3. If the Angels don't win, will Mike Sciosca finally be on the hot seat?

National League:
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Arizona Diamondbacks. In what is perhaps the weakest division in Major League baseball, the Giants and Dodgers will be like kings. The Giants will outlast the Dodgers as they are better coached and have a better pitching staff, but a team to watch this year even though they'll have a losing record is the San Diego Padres. They will have some fun players to watch and may be the equivalent of the 2014 Houston Astros.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Pittsburgh Pirates, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds. Short of a season full of injuries, the Cubs are basically a lock to win the division. The Pirates should be a team to watch because they can sneak up on the Cards and possibly contend for a Wildcard spot if their younger players step up this season. The Brewers have some nice pieces in place as well, but not enough to be a contender this year.

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. New York Mets, 3. Philadelphia Phillies, 4. Miami Marlins, 5. Atlanta Braves. The Nationals will take this division, led by their pitching and the bat of Harper. The Phillies will be a surprise with their "no-name" roster, but not enough to capture a Wildcard spot. Injuries will plague the Marlins once again.

Wildcard Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals

League Champion: Washington Nationals

NL Awards: MVP - Paul Goldschmidt; Cy Young - Matt Scherzer; Rookie of the Year - Hunter Renfroe; Manager of the Year - Dusty Baker; Fireman of the Year - Greg Holland

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Buster Posey, 1B: Paul Goldschmidt; 2B: Jonathan Villar; 3B: Nolan Arenado; SS: Corey Seager; OF: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Giancarlo Stanton; P: Madison Bumgarner

Most Interesting Stories for the NL:
1. How much of a hybrid will the San Diego Padres' Christian Bethancourt be? Brought up as a catcher, he's also expected to pitch and even play some outfield this season.
2. Can the Nationals finally live up to expectations? With their youngsters finally getting some experience under their belts, Harper, Turner, and Scherzer look to attempt to take the team to their first World Series.
3. Can the Chicago Cubs repeat what they did last season?

World Series Champions: Houston Astros. In a battle of two teams looking for their first World Series win, the Astros will defeat the Nationals in six games. The Astros pitching staff is built for the playoffs and their younger players are more seasoned now. The difference between the two teams will be the bullpen pitching.

Cremation...The Answer to the Zombie Apocalypse

Screencap from The Walking Dead

Americans love zombies. The seemingly current trend in supernatural creatures, partially due to television shows such as The Walking Dead, books such as World War Z, and video games such as Resident Evil, zombies have taken over the fancy of Americans where the vampires have left off. Perhaps this is because of the Twilight books and movies.

Because of this fascination, often people would discuss "what if" scenarios in jest, contemplating what they would do if there was a real zombie invasion. The United States even turned to Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks, to dream up scenarios that could happen so the government could plan for the worst case scenarios.

It seems to me that the quickest and easiest way to ensure that zombies never happen, not that they would, is to make sure to cremate the dead. Sure, this doesn't exactly stop The Walking Dead scenario from happening, but it would prevent the classically known zombie who digs himself out of his own grave to frighten the living. If a deceased person is buried, they could feasibly come back as one of the walking dead. If cremated, the ashes would not reassemble into a zombie...well, you know, in a fictional world that is.

Cremation is the answer.

Plus, it would save a ton of space on land that would normally be dedicated to coffins and tombs. Land that could otherwise go to use for the living. Use as in more homes, schools, or parks.

For those that are cremated, but are still buried, it would still be a space saver...and could foreseeably prevent the zombie apocalypse.

Advertising on Jerseys

With sports teams trying to find new avenues of income some of the purity of the sport is being drained away. Slowly, the original names of the stadiums and arenas gave way to corporate sponsors. Obviously, the inside of these stadiums and arenas are covered in advertising on scoreboards, boards, and even in the bathrooms. Now, NBA teams will soon be advertising on jerseys.

The Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, and Philadelphia 76ers were the first to unveil their new ads that will be on their jerseys in the 2017-2018 season. The Brooklyn Nets joined the new trend this past week with their deal with Infor. Eventually other teams will follow their lead as other teams have contacted the Celtics to inquire how much they made from their advertising deal with GE.

And this won't be where the trend ends. NHL, NFL, and MLB teams will follow soon afterward. Anything for an extra dollar.  

There is something special about buying a jersey of your favorite player and wearing it out in public, especially at sports events. Instead everyone buying an NBA at the end of this year will effectively be a walking billboard.

This isn't new in sports. Soccer has been doing it for a long time already, but America never fully embraced soccer as one of their own sports. NASCAR has been doing it forever too, but for some reason it never bugged the fans. Perhaps this is because there isn't an official team jersey for each driver as a team such as the Boston Celtics has. It started off that the cars were advertised on before the drivers themselves wore the ads on their driver suits.

There was just something simple about wearing a jersey that only featured your favorite team and/or player. Within five years, that feeling will probably disappear now that this trend has started. It's a shame because even though sports teams are multi-billion dollar business, the jerseys were still pure.

Now that feeling is gone.

Super Bowl LI Predictions Including Prop Bets

On the eve of Super Bowl LI (51 for those of who are wondering where the Roman numeral X's went), predictions and bets are being placed on just about anything and everything. Not just the score, but things such who scores first, who wins the coin flip, and even the over/under on the time it takes to sing the national anthem. If you're in Las Vegas, these are referred to as prop bets and are all things you can gamble on. You're probably able to place similar bets on sports gambling websites as well.

Not immune to this completely, while not placing money down on these various facets of the game, here is the Millhouse list of Super Bowl LI predictions.

Score/Winner: Falcons 34 Patriots 24...
Many may scoff at this prediction, but look at the facts. The Falcons have a more potent offense than the Patriots. Matt Ryan had a career year, the backfield is full of weapons, and they have possibly their best receiving corps in team history.

On the other hand, many act like Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever. Sportscasters have been pointing out that Brady is extremely accurate, throwing only two interceptions the whole season. What many don't want to see is that Brady averages an interception every game when it comes to the playoffs. That's not counting the fumbles (or non-fumbles if you're a Raiders fan). Brady isn't the clutch-performer many think he is. Add that to the fact that he lost Rob Gronkowski, his favorite target, to injury and you can see that the passing game of the Patriots is potentially flawed. Add that to the poor running game they've displayed in the playoffs this year (Lewis 2.7 yards-per-carry; Blount 3.3 yards-per-carry; Brady -2 yards total) and there are holes everywhere for the Falcons defense to expose.

MVP: Matt Ryan...
People love voting for the winning quarterback as an MVP in the Super Bowl. Matt Ryan is poised to be that MVP while throwing to targets such as Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and to his backs in the flat.

First Score: The Patriots when Tom Brady hits Chris Hogan...
Despite scoring first, they won't be able to stop the Falcons from scoring more.

First Play: A 2-yard run up the middle by LaGarrette Blount.

First Turnover: Ricardo Allen intercepts a Tom Brady pass.

First Sack: Vic Beasley sacks Tom Brady.

First to Challenge a Play: Bill Belichick in the second quarter

Score at Halftime: Falcons 14 Patriots 14

Leading Rusher: Devonta Freeman with 108 yards rushing.

Leading Receiver: Julio Jones with 138 yards receiving.

First Song Lady Gaga will Perform at Halftime: "Just Dance" seems like a good song to get the energy flowing, but "Born this Way" may end up being the winner with the political atmosphere in the United States and her stance on LGBTQ rights.

Guest Singer Most Likely to Sing Along with Lady Gaga: Tony Bennett.

Length of Luke Bryan's National Anthem Performance: Not being the same time of singer that Lady Gaga or even Whitney Houston is, Luke Bryan will most likely sing the national anthem straight up and not embellish on it. A good number would be 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Heads or Tails: Tails...but I could be wrong and it could be heads.

Color of sports drink (Gatorade) that is Poured on Winning Coach's Head: Red

Chance Donald Trump will Mention the Super Bowl: He already has, promoting an interview he's doing on Fox News with Bill O'Reilly just before the Super Bowl. Beyond that, if the Patriots do win, Trump will almost definitely congratulate his buddy, Tom Brady.

Miscellaneous Stats: Matt Ryan 330 yards passing along with 3 touchdown passes; Tom Brady 368 yards passing along with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions; Devonta Freeman 108 yards rushing and 32 receiving along with a rushing touchdown; Tevin Coleman 48 yards rushing and 3 receptions for 67 yards including one touchdown reception; Chris Hogan 7 receptions for 123 yards and 1 touchdown reception; Julio Jones 138 yards receiving from 10 receptions and one touchdown reception; Deion Jones 41 yards rushing; Julian Edelman 5 receptions for 110 yards receiving and 1 touchdown reception; Taylor Gabriel 4 receptions for 52 yards; Vic Beasley 6 tackles along with 1 sack; Dont'a Hightower 7 tackles; Stephen Gostkowski 1 for 2 in field goals; Matt Bryant 2 for 2 in field goals

First Steroid Era Players Inducted

The 2017 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame results were released yesterday and three new names found themselves thrust into mix of other names such as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were announced as the newest inductees to the Hall. All three players are worthy of the award, but only one of them was a first year inductee.

Known as Pudge by many, Rodriguez was arguably one of the best catchers of his generation. Defensively he had no match. The red flag on Pudge's remarkable career was that he was one of a large group of players suspected of taking steroids.

Former teammate Jose Canseco claimed in his book Juiced that he introduced Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez to them. He also claimed that future president and then-team owner, George W. Bush, also knew of his star players taking them. Of course, it's hard to believe Jose Canseco. He basically claims that he introduced every star player he was teammates or friends with to steroids, but no evidence other than his word has ever been presented. It also should be noted that Canseco's word is less than trustworthy, yet nearly every player he accused was irreparably harmed. Rodriguez included.

With this latest vote, it appears that the baseball writers have become a little more forgiving in the past year. Anyone with the steroids stigma was considered a long shot for the honor of being called a hall of famer. This year, Pudge broke through to break that barrier, along with Jeff Bagwell who received 86 percent of the vote in his seventh try.

Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds both received over 50 percent of the vote to gain the highest percentage they've received since they became eligible. They're gaining steam. Only two players in history received over 50 percent of the vote and never made it eventually. Lee Smith, who will now be dropped from the ballot after his tenth try this year, and Jack Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980's.

Others connected to steroids included Manny Ramirez also received almost 24 percent of the vote this year while Sammy Sosa received eight percent. Next season sees the inclusion Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and Jim Thome, all of whom have been suspected of some sort of steroid or human growth hormone use.

Writers are going to have to start getting used to the idea that some of those they vote in may have the stigma attached to their careers. Otherwise, they will only be left with options such as Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, and other players that also deserve to go to the hall, but haven't received enough of the vote yet.