+ click to enlarge, and bring sunglasses

Long before Jimmy Buffett was wasted away in Margaritaville, he was an undergrad at Southern Miss, wasted away in Hattiesburg.

This weekend, Southern Miss (my love and bain of my college football season existence) is hosting Jimmy Buffett “Parrothead Night”. The pictures speak for themselves.

If you like them, you can buy one:

A few of the team’s jerseys will be sent to Buffett, who will autograph them and return them to USM, which will auction them off.

Proceeds from the auction will go toward the Dugout Club and to a scholarship fund in the name of Buffett’s late mother, Peets, who was a 1940 graduate of the Gulf Park College for Women, now the Southern Miss Gulf Park Campus.

Oh… and if you REALLY like them but don’t want to spend the money, you can download the computer wallpaper.

And the fact that it exists means that someone wants to wear it.

I’m madly in love with these old school jerseys. I’d even wear a Yankees one.

Most of you don’t follow the Mariners closely. I’ve always loved the team, long before I moved to Seattle. Dave Niehaus was the Mariners’ Hall Of Fame announcer; one that I’ve been privileged to have on the TV 162 days of the year over the last 4 years.

Dave called 5,284 of the Mariners’ 5,385 games. If one were to play all of those games, one per day, all in a row, you’d play baseball 14 years straight.

I’m going to be cliche and post the clip from the “95 Slide”. No matter how many times I watch it, the clip still gives me chills.

My favorite thing about this video? Niehaus is incredibly professional throughout, but listen to his voice change at the 3 second mark. He becomes a fan. He is a fan. Niehaus is the only original Mariners employee who is still a Mariners employee.

I love this clip. Loved that man.

Tim Lincecum showed up for Game 7 in style.
Some poke fun, but I dig, man. I dig.

The Seattle Mariners marketing team with a creative t-shirt giveaway for Social Media Happy Hour.

Cheesy? Yes.
Creative? Also, yes.

Hope you’re as happy as this girl after Ichiro touched after whilst chasing thine foul ball.

Getoffyourphoneyoureatabaseballgame.

A pitch last night from Stephen Strasburg.

When I was a child I the three posters on my walls: Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Ken Griffey Jr. You guessed it… I wanted to be an African American athlete when I grew up.

Spoiler Alert: I became neither African American nor an athlete, both of which I am saddened by.

Ken Griffey Jr. is by far my most favorite athlete ever, regardless of sport. Classy, honest, and perfect in his prime. The fact that I’ve lived in Seattle to seen him return with the Reds and come back to the Mariners makes me incredibly happy.

That game was a miracle.

“Why did he run when I was going to throw him out?”

- Ichiro Suzuki

Baseball season is nearly here: The Five Most Important Hits in Seattle Mariners History

Here’s a non-HD clip from my iPhone before Sunday’s game.

Griffey couldn’t have bee any classier before he took the stage. Signed autographs (amongst drunken, obnoxious, man-crushing Seahawks fans) for 20 minutes before raising the flag, then braved the masses en route to the stairwell, speaking to fans and signing caps and shirts all along the way.

This town will never have another Junior.

Happy Holidays from the Seattle Mariners. Icannotwaitforbaseballseason.

Ichiro thrilled that Ken Griffey Jr. is back for another Mariners season

News of Ken Griffey Jr.’s return to Seattle for 2010 reverberated Wednesday among Mariners fans, who fiercely debated the pros and cons of the move.

However, the M’s announcement of a one-year contract for Griffey, who turns 40 on Nov. 21, received an unequivocal endorsement from one important resident of Mariner Nation.

“Ichiro told me many times throughout the ’09 season that he was just thrilled to be on the same team as ‘George’ [Griffey's given first name; Kenneth is his middle name],” said Ichiro’s agent, Tony Attanasio, in an e-mail.

Attanasio added that Ichiro “is very happy with the choice both Junior and the Mariners made.”

Attanasio related the reaction of Ichiro, who is now in Japan: “What Junior brings to our team is professionalism and experience of a great player, but more than that, a great and wonderful person. Junior is good for the team, good for the young players, good for the city. He is a wonderful man, and I am honored to be his teammate.”

I love that Ichiro calls Jr. ‘George’.

Thank you, Ken Griffey Jr. for one of the best birthday presents, ever: Griffey returning for another season