Aggie87

Okay, here's my take on the Cowboy's offseason so far: Things that needed to be addressed: 1. Running Game 2. QB Position, maybe. 3. O-Line 4. Wide Receivers 5. D-Line 6. Cornerback What they've done so far: 1. RB - Drafted Julius Jones, who should immediately be an upgrade over last season's RB, Troy Hambrick (now of the Oakland Raiders, heads up to RainyDay!). I don't think they got the best RB in the draft, and they had their pick of the litter. But either way, Jones should make the running game better. 2. QB - Traded for Drew Henson, and picked up Vinny Testaverde in free agency. Parcells says the position is currently open, and he'll select the starter after the 2nd preseason game. I'm guessing Carter has a head start, and personally I want to see him develop on his reasonably good season last year. I like him and am rooting for him, but think he's still got some improving to do. Testaverde (how old is he now, about 63?) should be the stop-gap guy in case Carter falters. And Henson appears to be the QB of the future; I hope they don't throw him in too early like they did with both Carter and Hutch. 3. O-Line - Larry Allen appears to be healthy and working hard (at least for now), so if he can be better than he was last year, that's a plus. Drafted two linemen early (Jacob Rogers & Stephen Peterman) who should be able to contribute. Flozell Adams had a good year last season, and should continue to dominate. And they guy they drafted last year to play center (Al Johnson) is back and healthy, after missing the whole season, so hopefully this group can put it together. 4. Traded Joey Galloway straight up for Keyshawn Johnson. KJ is hopefully the possession receiver the 'Boys have lacked since the days of Michael Irvin, which should help Carter out. Terry Glenn and Antonio Bryant look to be the other primary receivers, and can both stretch the field. Bryant needs to improve his catching ability. They also have two solid TE's in Dan Campbell and Jason Witten, so they appear set there. 5. D-Line - Finally dumped the failure that was Ebenezer Ekuban. And appeared to upgrade the position by picking up free agent Marcellus Wiley. Hopefully he gives the Cowboys a pass rush that they've sorely lacked. Greg Ellis and LaRoi Glover are both back and solid players, and Willie Blade seems to have turned into a fairly decent tackle as well. Should be a better D line than last year. 6. Cornerback - They let Mario Edwards get away in FA to the Bucs, which probably wasn't a major loss. But they didn't pick anyone else up, and appear to be hoping that Pete Hunter turns into a player. My fingers are crossed. I still wonder if they've got a secret plan to pick up either Mike McKenzie or Ty Law somehow. If they can do that, their defense should be even better than last year's #1 rating. If not, they should still be fairly solid. Finally, they kept their coaching staff intact, after almost losing Mo Carthon and Sean Payton. I think that will only help the offense's (and Carter's) development, and should make them a solid playoff contender. Not ready to make it to the big game yet, but if they can repeat last year's 10-6 record, I think they're headed in the right direction (especially with two 1st round picks in next year's draft). Enough musing... -Erik

Just wanted to start up a thread for this year's NFL, if anyone's ready to start talking about football! I know it's early, but the AFL & NFL Europe just aren't cutting it for me. So here's a little tidbit about the 2004 schedule, and a couple of "minor" revisions to team names ************************* The New NFL (National Football League) The New National Football League recently announced a new era. From now on, no politically incorrect team names will be permitted. While the owners of the teams rush to change uniforms and such, the New National Football League announced, yesterday, its name changes and schedules for the 2004 season: The Washington Native Americans will host the New York Very Tall People on opening day. Other key games include the Dallas Western-Style Laborers hosting the St. Louis Wild Endangered Species, and the Minnesota Plundering Norsemen taking on the Green Bay Meat Industry Workers. In Week 2, there are several key matchups, highlighted by the showdown between the San Francisco Precious Metal Enthusiasts and the New Orleans Pretty Good People. The Atlanta Birds of Prey will play host to the Philadelphia Birds of Prey, while the Seattle Birds of Prey will visit the Phoenix Male Finches. The Monday night game will pit the Miami Pelagic Percoid Food Fishes against the Denver Untamed Beasts of Burden. The Cincinnati Large Bangladeshi Carnivorous Mammals will travel to Tampa Bay for a clash with the West Indies Free Booters later in Week 9. And the Detroit Large Carnivorous Cats will play the Chicago Large Mountain Mammals. Week 9 also features the Indianapolis Young Male Horses at the New England Zealous Lovers of Country.

My turn too - take care and stop by from time to time if you're able. And good luck with your son's attention-issue, hope it's just his way of being a boy! -Erik

I've got Cassandra's "Dance to the Drums" as well, and it's definitely not her best work, but it's not as bad as her live album on JMT, in my opinion. Cool cover, but I can't recommend anything else about it. And to add another to the list, Charlie Haden's "American Dreams" - coulda been great with that supporting cast...

AB - My son just turned three in March, and for what it's worth, he sounds like he's very similar to yours. Very short attention span, and LOADS of energy. Breaks things occasionally, doesn't listen until you get upset with him, and displays his emotions very physically. Since his mother is hispanic, I attribute a little bit of the emotion thing to her genes And he's the complete opposite of my 6 yr old daughter, who's somewhat quiet, focused and can entertain herself. I think he's borderline hyperactive myself, but we haven't taken him to see any professionals, so that's just my opinion based on observation & interaction. I don't really want to go down the medication path either, or at least only as a last resort. I really want to wait until he begins kindergarten to see if he starts to settle down somewhat when he has more focused activities, and a peer group doing the same things as him. Then it will be easier to decide if he needs specialized attention or help, I think. I'm hoping things kind of normalize at that point. For now, he's just "all boy", which is a good thing! -Erik

Kinda skimpy on the extras, but at least this time we get: "Creators Come Clean" featurette Encore bonus episode: Season 1 Pilot

How about these guys?

Happy Birthday! My friend Larry's doing whatever it takes to get my present to you today!

To my surprise, they also are carrying the John Scofield/Mark Anthony Turnage collaboration, Scorched, on Deutsche Grammophon. Though it's "sales-exempt", and is listed at $19.98, so I'm guessing most folks who would want this one will find it cheaper elsewhere. But the fact that they even know it exists impresses me!

On the ground under my feet, which is also America, race DOESN'T matter.

I've also noticed that they now have the newest Yes 3 disc compilation. Two discs of "hits" and one disc of newly recorded material - including acoustic versions of South Side of the Sky and Roundabout. Not a bad set for someone just wanting a best-of. They've also got the recent Rhino remasters of Fragile, The Yes Album, and Close to the Edge. These all have very good sound, plus bonus tracks.

Rooster - Just caught up with this thread. About a month ago I purchased the Sony unit in your original post. I wanted an inexpensive combo player (<$200), and figured the Sony would be the best of the bunch. Well, the VCR played fine, but the DVD player seemed to have problems playing any DVD. I'd load one, and it would literally take about 4-5 minutes to read it. I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to be pushing some button on the remote to get it to read (faster). Whether it was defective, or just a design flaw, I didn't like it, and returned it. Basically went with the concept that wolff espouses, separate inexpensive players. Picked up a Sony VCR for about $80, and the Pioneer DVD player that also plays SACDs (for about $150), both at Best Buy.

Hey Ian - I like the early trio stuff on Enja as well, alot. The new one is as good as those, I think. It's got a more modern sound to it, and Sco's obviously played in alot of different settings over the past 20 years, so his style has evolved a bit, but it is still every bit a solid trio recording. If you liked the early stuff, don't hesitate to grab this one. And let me know what you think of it, once you've digested it. -Erik

I've listened to EnRoute two times all the way through now, and am VERY impressed. It's a great, no-frills trio recording, and all three musicians - Sco, Swallow, & Stewart are in fine form. I would love to see the trio in concert - you can tell they are a working band, and mesh together very well. For those of you who got off the Sco bandwagon after his BN recordings, or don't care so much for his funkier recordings, you may want to check this one out! Also, from Sco's website, Jack DeJohnette may organize a recording of the "Celebrating Tony Williams" group - Sco, DeJohnette, and Larry Goldings. They're planning to tour Europe in the November timeframe, for those lucky enough to be on that side of the pond. So a "ScoDeJoGo" recording may see the light of the day at some point.

Hats off to the Lakers for the win. I don't think the Spurs are going to have it in them to win the next game on the road. I hope they surprise me. Popovich is claiming the clock didn't start on time when it was inbounded with 0.4 seconds left. His contention appears to be that Fisher couldn't have enough time to receive the ball, stop & turn, jump, and shoot the ball, all within 0.4 seconds. Heck, even the league agrees that 0.3 seconds is not enough time to get a shot off, ever. I doubt the Spurs win the appeal, but it will be interesting to see how the league responds to the protest.

If you end up with the Spanish Time-Life version there, be aware that while it may state "Joe Henderson" on the front, it's actually "Joe Anderson" playing sax, according to the back cover.

montg - I missed the link earlier, sorry! Funny that the BN site doesn't make mention that it's a live date... Looking forward to this release either way - hope it has the energy of Banned in New York!!

Due out July 20th: for the show (and that fact that it's finally on DVD), but for not having any extras on the first box set. Hopefully that's rectified for Round 2.

ss1 - I'd skip the individual release (and the ones for II and III that are sure to follow) and get the box set. May cost you a few more shekels, but you get the bonus disc with material not otherwise available. Besides, it's mandatory to have I & II (III is optional), and the set will look better on your shelf. Take it from me, Gandhi Mangler

Cover image, courtesy of ol' Tomato Blue's website: PS - I saw no mention that this was a live recording. Are you sure about that, montg?

It's Al DiMeola you're talking about... Didn't he write a nasty letter to DownBeat defending himself last year?

Rachel - You mind if we stay for a few weeks? Double bill of Brad Mehldau Trio and John Scofield Trio at the Indy Jazz Festival on June 19th. I hope White River State Park ain't too far from your driveway, cuz that's where we'll be sleeping!! And could you run an extension cord out to my van, so we can plug in the mini-keg fridge? PS - None of these people are Lon, Sngry, Big Al, or myself (and why is Cheney wearing that frog t-shirt??). They are simply being used for illustrative purposes.

Completely off topic, but guess who is the lead singer of Van Halen again, apparently?

up... I stumbled across the Django Mosaic box at Waterloo last weekend while visiting Austin. Surprised to see it there in the first place, since I didn't think this one was released to retail (?). But they were asking about $150-$160 for it, which seems strange to me, since it's still in print and is selling for $96.00 on the Mosaic website. Was this perhaps a vinyl version that's out of print or something? Or are they just hoping to sell it for above market value? Shoulda looked more closely, but my hands were already full

I have it on videotape, somewhere in a box. Haven't watched it in over 10 years. It used to be readily available at the A&M bookstore, and I'd guess it probably still is. Aggies used to watch it primarily to see the old footage of the campus, as far as I can tell. And most that I knew laughed out loud at the plot itself, at least during my time there. I'm sure it was much more dramatic, effective, and probably "useful" when it was originally released, to stir up anti-Japanese sentiment. Heck, though I'm of Swedish descent (like B3-er), I was born in Japan, and the film didn't keep me away from A&M!!