(click above image to see entire gallery)
Well, folks, The ground is pretty hard now. The pictures I took today are of the work we did yesterday. It was snowing this morning when I shot the images. We installed four sections of the retaining walls in yesterday afternoon’s work. We had to break up the frozen ground with the backhoe to get near the elevations required for the walls, then we had to break up the ground again (because it refroze) so Daisy could backfill behind the walls. Hand chipping the frozen soil so the walls canted back properly was tough. Neither of us think the final two sections are right, so we may start again next spring by removing and resetting them. I guess all our work from now on this winter will have to be from inside our structures. Well, here are the pics. of the work so far.
Happy holidays to all!
Joe & Daisy
The Yankees officially announced this afternoon that they have signed free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano from the Florida Marlins. It is a four-year contract worth $40 million. Apparently, there is a team option for a fifth year at an additional $15 million, or a $2 million buyout. Pavano is a right-hander who went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for Florida last season. A press conference introducing Pavano as a Yankee is scheduled for Wednesday.
Arsenal were today drawn against Bayern Munich in the draw for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal last faced the German giants in 2001, when they were clear underdogs compared to the eventual champions. This time around, it is Arsenal who are most likely to be favored.
Here’s Arsenal’s schedule:
1st Leg
Bayern Munich v Arsenal
Tuesday February 22, 2005
2nd Leg
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Wednesday March 9, 2005
The rest of the draw has some great looking matchups. Here’s the draw in full:
Real Madrid v Juventus
Porto v Internazionale
Barcelona v Chelsea
Werder Bremen v Lyon
Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen
PSV Eindhoven v Monaco
Manchester United v AC Milan
Bayern Munich v Arsenal
from the BBC:
Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger has been fined £15,000 and “severely reprimanded” by the Football Association for comments about Ruud van Nistelrooy.
He was found guilty of an improper conduct charge for accusing the Manchester United player of ‘cheating’.
The Gunners manager denied the charge, but told Arsenal’s official website he would not appeal against the decision.
“Now is the time to move on. We have an important match coming up and all my thoughts are focused on that,” he said.
Wenger was not present for the hearing in central London, but was punished in his absence, with the FA also warning him as to his future conduct.
The controversy arose from Wenger’s television comments after Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat in October at Old Trafford.
He said of the Dutchman: “We all know him, he can only cheat people who don’t know him.”
Wenger’s initial comments were made in the heat of the moment on television in the aftermath of a title clash that his side had lost 2-0, ending their record 49-game unbeaten league run.
Wenger was also investigated by the FA over comments he made about referee Mike Riley’s decision to award the penalty.
The FA also looked into reports that food was thrown at United manager Alex Ferguson in the tunnel after the game
from ESPN.com:
Several obstacles stand in the way of a proposed three-team mega-trade involving five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson that was reportedly on the road to getting done Thursday night.
A baseball source told ESPN on Thursday that the proposed trade involving the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Dodgers is not as close to completion as earlier reports had indicated — and that the deal is rapidly exceeding the complexity of last year’s failed Alex Rodriguez-to-Boston trade.
However, Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, one of the seven players involved in the trade, told ESPN Radio on Friday that the deal is nearly done and he is scheduled to take a physical for Arizona next week.
“It’s pretty close to being done from everything I understand,” he said. “There’s still a few ways it couldn’t happen — you have a couple of no-trade clauses — but everything’s looking good. I think I’m going to take a physical next week if this goes through, and if that goes through everything will be fine.”
Reports from Newsday and Fox Sports on Thursday indicated that the teams were closing in on a trade that would send Johnson to the Yankees, Javier Vazquez and prospects Eric Duncan and Dioner Navarro to Los Angeles and Shawn Green and pitchers Penny and Yhency Brazoban to Arizona.
However, there are reportedly several variations on the trade being considered, including the possibility that a fourth team could be involved.
One stumbling block is the Dodgers, who lost Adrian Beltre to the Mariners on Thursday.
Beltre agreed to a $64 million, five-year deal with Seattle, after the Johnson trade was proposed.
By failing to re-sign Beltre, the Dodgers may rethink their role in the trade, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reported.
Losing both Beltre and Green would leave the Dodgers with a power shortage at the plate. Beltre batted .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBI last season while Green hit .266 with 28 homers and 86 RBI.
Other issues that threatened to derail the trade include the waiving of Green’s no-trade clause.
A source close to Green, who is due $16 million in 2005, told ESPN.com that the Dodgers outfielder is happy living in Southern California, where he grew up, and has expressed no desire to leave Los Angeles.
“I think Shawn always envisioned finishing his career with the Dodgers,” Green’s agent, Greg Genske, said Friday. “But if a trade is put in place, he’s going to consider all of his options.”
How much money the Diamondbacks would receive from the Yankees is also a point of contention. Sources told Stark that moving Duncan and Navarro would preclude the Yankees from sending money to Arizona.
Another obstacle that could reportedly derail the trade is Vazquez’s salary; he is due $34.5 million over the next three seasons and Los Angeles apparently wants help from the Yankees footing the bill.
There was no confirmation from any of the teams that a deal has been proposed.
“We’re at the point where we’ve decided the best thing we can do is have no comment,” Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick said Friday.
Johnson’s agent, Barry Meister, declined comment when reached by ESPN.com.
“We’re still in conversations with a lot of different clubs about a lot of different possibilities,” Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta said earlier Thursday. “We have talked about some three-way deals and some four-way deals.
“I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not,” he said.
Johnson, like Green, has a no-trade clause, but the Big Unit had said he would accept a deal to the Yankees. The Yankees also would be expected to sign Johnson to a contract extension if they acquire him. Johnson will make $16 million next season, the final year of his contract.
Even if there is an agreement to put Johnson in Yankee pinstripes, New York plans to ask for a 72-hour window to negotiate a contract extension with Johnson before completing the deal, a baseball source told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
“A Festivus, for the rest of us!” - Frank Constanza
