Widely reviled former slugger Barry Bonds will pay to send Bryan Stow’s two young children to college.
Barry Bonds does something awesome beyond just hitting home runs at an unbelievable rate
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Dawn of the Zubaz
When we think of Zubaz today, “utilitarian” probably isn’t the first word that pops into our heads. However, friends Bob Truax and Dan Stock actually had a practical purpose in mind when they created the garish pants. Truax and Stock owned a Minnesota gym that was popular with bodybuilders. The bodybuilding clientele had a problem: the hardcore weightlifters couldn’t find pants or shorts that comfortably fit their massive thighs while offering the flexibility they needed in workouts.
This link comes from our man @dpecs, and man, there’s a lot here. First things first: How is it possible that the dudes responsible for Zubaz are named “Truax and Stock”? Why did they bother coming up with a name for their pants besides “Truax”? To me, the name Truax perfectly befits wide-legged, zebra-striped pants with elastic waistbands aimed at weightlifters. In fact, I think if they’d have gone with a slightly different approach, Truax and Stock could be as synonymous with competitive bodybuilding as Abercrombie and Fitch are with lacrosse. Totally failed business opportunity there, if you ask me.
You should click through and read the rest of the Mental Floss piece. It turns out the history of Zubaz is precisely as fascinating as you’d expect.
I myself owned a pair of L.A. Raiders Zubaz in the early 1990s. They had silver lightning bolts on them and they were totally sweet. I can’t find a picture online. I should note, I guess, that I played pee-wee football for the East Rockaway Raiders, so even though I was always a Jets fan I had a ton of Raiders gear when I was a little kid. I must have looked pretty badass for a fifth grader, decked out in black and silver all the time. Probably not, actually. But I sure thought I did.
Anyway I’m pretty sure I trashed the Zubaz with the rest of my sweatpants when I hit sixth grade. For some reason — and chime in here if this happened in your town too — there was some strict but unwritten rule that you were absolutely not to wear sweatpants to middle school. It sucked. Sweatpants are great, and in fifth grade I must have worn sweatpants to school every day from October to April. But apparently if you ever dared show up at middle school in anything besides jeans you’d be forever ostracized. I never took my chances.
Sandwich-related items of note
First, Zane reminded me of the great tumblr site Scanwiches today. I hope you check it regularly. It’s beautiful.
Second, Josh passed along word that the long-rumored, much-delayed Candwich is finally on sale. If you’re unfamiliar, the candwich is exactly what it sounds like: a sandwich that comes in a can. Only it turns out the sandwich does not come pre-made; you get a roll, a packet of peanut butter, a packet of jelly and a small knife and they expect you to make your own damn sandwich.
That’s a little disappointing, to say the least. But I guess it’s the only sure way to prevent the jelly from getting the bread all soggy. And I know if I’m confined to a fallout shelter and forced to live on canned sandwiches for decades, the last thing I’m going to want to deal with are prefab sandwiches not constructed to my own high standards. I mean we’re living in a 10′-by-10′ concrete cell waiting out nuclear winter for heaven’s sakes; all we’ve got is time.
Previewing Mets-Cubs with Paul Sullivan
I ask, the Internet provides
Since I got off to a late start today, I asked you, the people of the Internet, to send forth awesome stuff from your domain, the Internet. And lo, you did.
This comes from our man @OGDougKopf. It’s from Mexico. If that were a regular bullet I probably wouldn’t have posted it here, but from the looks of it and the gun I’m guessing it’s one of those non-lethal bean-bag rounds, which can also do a hell of a lot of damage. But nothing a seasoned luchador can’t shoulder:
Everything was fine until [expletive] here shut off the power grid
The still-operating New York City firehouse used to film Ghostbusters in 1984 is one of the companies on the chopping block due to budget cuts.
Does the pole still work?
Via Jeff McVideo.
Chris Bosh super emo
The Val Pascucci Express picking up steam
Over his last five games, Val Pascucci is rocking the .467/.619/.800 line. He’s now at .276/.413/.449 for the season. Here’s his bases-clearing double from last night:
Wilpon says Mets are ‘bleeding cash’
Well that doesn’t sound good. I’ll wait for the rest of the Sports Illustrated story, I suppose. So far I can’t imagine the Mets are all that pleased with the outcome of Fred Wilpon’s media blitz.
Late start
I spent the morning taking care of some routine medical nonsense that occupied way more time than I figured it would. I’m back in the office now and ready to start firing, but if you want to help me out by sending along something awesome from the Internet today, that’d be huge. You can get at me via the contact form above and to the right, or email me at tberg@sny.tv.
Tedquarters 