Dave James

I accept the fact that club pianos are notorious for their condition, but why is it that recording one in a live setting back then was so friggin' difficult? I think Davis would have been fine if the recording was up to snuff, but as it stands, he sounded like he was playing some broken down instrument they found in speakeasy.

I didn't think it was possible for anyone's career to go down the drain faster than A-Rod's, but life is all about surprises. In the last week, Mark Tiexiera is 2 for 23. Even worse, assuming something like this can get any worse, his two hits came in the same game. That means he went 0-19 in the Yankee's other five outings. Perhaps the only bright spot is that there's not much room between where he is now and absolute rock bottom. In the real world, he'd be standing on a street corner holding a "WILL FIELD FOR FOOD" sign. In Yankee world, he makes over $20 million a year. Not only that, but he'll be around for almost five more seasons. Wonder where they're planning to hide him and Mr. Rod when neither of them can find their ass with either hand.

I think he is. His name is Jim.

He actually has a little bit of screen presence. If the drumming had not worked out for him, he might've wound up playing the poor man's John Shaft.

This was on Marc Myers' JazzWax blog yesterday. I thought it was strange enough to warrant a post.

Looks like Jimmy Page in drag.

Was kind of hoping in the back of my mind that the Eagles would take LaMichael James from UO. He ended up going to the Niners on the next pick. Overall, this looks like a strong defensive draft for my boys. Two good D-linemen and an LB from California with a motor that will not stop running. The most interesting pick was Nick Foles, the quarterback from Arizona. Pretty much sends a message to current backup MIke Kafka that he's not in their plans. I watched Foles play a few times over the last couple of seasons and I thought he was an above average QB. Good enough to make noise in the NFL? 70/30 no. Only time will tell.

Yankee shortstops during the time Skowron was with the team were Phil Rizutto, Gil McDougald and Tony Kubek, Second basemen were McDougald, Jerry Coleman and Bobby Richardson. Sorry to hear the Moose has passed. He was a mainstay of those 50's teams that solidified my ongoing love affair with the Yankees. I saw him play against the White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago several time in the late 50's. Solid guy all around. Good fielder. Better hitter. .294 career average.

Pleased with my Eagles trading up a few spots to ensure that they could take Fletcher Cox. The guy will be a perfect middle clogger in the wide 9 defense. My first choice would have been Luke Kuchely, the linebacker from Boston College, but he was long gone by the time the Eagles selected Cox.

Actually, Marks played on their first four albums. Not that this makes him a career Beach Boy, but it's not as bad as most people think. He was replaced by Al Jardine who gave up dental school for a spot in the band. Perhaps one of the best decisions anyone, anywhere, has ever made. Marks formed a group called David Marks and the Marksmen which, shall we say, never quite rose to the level of the Beach Boys.

I saw this. It's encouraging. I just wish I had more faith in Curt Shilling's judgement. After all, he did pitch with a bloody sock. BTW, has that sock ever been DNA tested?

That's a nice and comprehensive set list. Wonder how the Boys are sounding? In the past, they've been known to mail it in, but I'd hope that with this probably being their swan song as a group and with Brian in the mix, that it will be a pretty tight show. I found very upbeat review of their opening concert in Tucson My link Click on the "Things To Do" link and scroll down to the music section.

Found a vinyl copy in VG+ condition on Gemm.com. Here's link. I've only done business with Gemm once, but with good results. They are sort of a clearing house for lots of different dealers, so YMMV. http://www.gemm.com/c/search.pl?currency=US&filt_skip=1&search_detailed=1&artist=Benny+Green&title=Blow+Your+Horn&media=ANY&a_country_radio=ANY&a_country=&price_radio=ANY&price=&new_date_radio=ANY&new_date=&quant_on_hand=-1&condition_media=ANY&label=&release_date=&rdymd=year&release_number=&produce_remix=&category=&upc=&source_item_ref=&a_refno=&seller_country=&seller=&command=Searc

I'm afraid the Michael Pineda situation is much worse than is being reported. According to what I've read, he will be out for at least a year. What hasn't been discussed is how serious a torn labrum really is. I have heard several people with the same injury describe its after effects and it ain't pretty. While successful Tommy John surgery has become so commonplace that even high school players have it done, the fact of the matter is, the full recovery rate for a torn labrum is less than 30%. And even if Pineda is lucky enough to be among that 30%, his chances of ever being able to throw as hard as he once did are very slim. Not that you can point the finger at anyone in the team's brain trust, but I think this may turn out to be one of the worst moves the Yankees have ever made.

I have no respect for either of these guys. Their sole purpose is to stir up the pot.

For fans of Mad Men, Bill Simmons' Grantland website provides regular commentary that is both insightful and amusing, After each show on Sunday night, they also publish what they call the Mad Men Power Rankings where they rate the characters in terms of their contribution to a given episode. It's worth a look. My link

Congratulations to David Stern and the NBA for totally blowing an opportunity to draw a line in the sand when it comes to boorish dangerous behavior on the part of its players. This is a league that doesn't hesitate to drop five figure fines for using bad language or six figures for questioning the competency of its referees and they give MWP seven games (one of which is a meaningless, end of the season outing against Sacramento) for doing something that could potentially have ended another player's career? That is beyond lame and just serves to clarify how screwed up this league really is. Stern and his co-conspirators should be ashamed of themselves.

Still? This is Monday Michiru territory. It's certainly not jazz.

Thanks. I haven't been able to bring myself to comment on the hockey thread since Detroit folded their tent. I can't say I was all that surprised. The loss of Darren Helm really hurt, but probably not enough to change the outcome. Also, I'm still unhappy about the league failing to deal appropriately with Shea Weber for his WWF move on Zetterberg, but again, that wouldn't have made enough difference to change the result. Here's the deal. You build a team the back to the front. Jimmy Howard is a decent goaltender, but the Wings defense was really shaky. I'd like to see them make a run at Nashville's Ryan Suter to firm up their blueline. Also, and I've taken some heat over this on the Detroit Free Press Red Wing website, I'd like to see Nicklas Lidstrom hang up the skates. I just don't see starting to a rebuild around a 43-year old defenseman no matter how good he is. I'll tell you one thing, I wish I'd put some money on Vancouver, PIttsburgh and Chicago (and maybe New York and Boston) not getting out of the first round.

Hailey is a local gal. It's good to hear her say that she wants to stay true to her roots. Unfortunately, playing with Esperanza Spalding isn't quite what I'd call keeping the faith.

Artest is not just a repeat offender, he's a serial offender. This will be the 13th time he's been suspended for conduct (and bear with me here) unbecoming of an NBA player. We all know David Stern will do anything in his power to keep things afloat in L.A. but if he doesn't drop the biggest shoe on Artest that's ever been dropped, then he's not doing his job. I would say at a minimum, the longer of 10 games or however long James Harden is out of the Oklahoma lineup. Oh and a hefty fine. The guy is a thug. Best line I've heard so far. Artest should change his name to Meta World War.

Clearly someone operating outside of his comfort zone. Asking some of the same questions he might have asked Elvis a decade earlier. This was right around the time Clark began to lose relevance in terms of where the music was going. I wonder to what extent, if any, he was aware of that.

Amazon is offering it as a Kindle download for a little over $15. You can pre-order it now. It will released on May 3rd.

The most runs the Yankees have scored after the sixth inning is 16, also against the Red Sox on June 19, 2000.