Patrick

Nice to see some Tribe talk here. Of course, it could only be ranting about how pathetic they are. I'm trying not to pay too much attention this season. It should be made clear that the rant posted above is by Bruce Drennan, who is not an Indians TV announcer. He's a longtime Cleveland sports screecher, so this is his shtick. Rest assured, if we set the wayback machine to 1995 he would be complaining about Omar Vizquel's lack of power or Albert Belle's lack of manners. The Indians TV guys are Matt Underwood and Rick Manning (remember him?). Tom Hamilton does a nice job on the radio (with Mike Hegan, remember him?). Now back to other teams--just drive by that wreck on the side of the road in Cleveland, nothing to see here, move right along. Does Victor Martinez need a larger glove for when he's called on to (attempt to) catch Wake??

It moved with Manny Acta to Cleveland...

No caddy for daddy this year?

How 'bout them Caps?! I'm not really a fan of hockey at all, but started watching parts of the exciting Was/Mon series. Surprised to see the regular season goonery largely absent from these games. What a relief. Could turn me into a fan, ...maybe.

What the heck are you ughing about. Sheesh...

Agreed. Rose and Noah are tough. Taj Gibson looks promising. Bulls need a true center so that Noah can be a total beast at PF. Some lousy officiating tonight (both ways, though looks like Bulls got the worst of it). Weird game in that LeBron did not assert himself until the fourth qtr (yet still finished an assist short of a second consecutive triple double). LeBron/Jamison screen roll was unguardable in the first half, yet Cavs decide not to go back to it ever again. Why? Nice to see Shaq get something done before the inevitable foul trouble. If there was any way the Bulls could land DWade...

I guess I shop eBay a lot less than others (So far in 2010, I've purchased 20 items from 14 different sellers). I don't search the listings everyday, probably about once a week. I do get Sunday evening spam alerting me to items from favorite sellers. Three day listings probably come and go before I've had a chance to see them. What fraction of buyers are in my category? I reckon quite a few are. I'm glad I did see the 3 day listing for a brand new copy of the Plugged Nickel box. It ended on a weekend, I was the only bidder, and paid $50 for it. ...I'd be inclined to avoid that possibility if I were selling potentially pricy items. I have no opinion of 7 day versus 10 day, but I find the "getting bored" phenomenon a little odd. If watching it grows tiresome, go ahead and bid early. May get sniped later (or not), but then you don't have to worry about bidding later. Or don't bid.

I just tried to call in for a reservation for the screening on Monday night, and listened to a recorded message indicating that they take no reservations for their jazz film screenings (incl Dexter Gordon). It's first come, first serve. Anyone know offhand (I'm too lazy to research this right now) how large the Mary Pickford theater is? I will try to make it to the screening. Won't be able to attend the acquisition announcement on Friday.

My order of all 4 from grooves-inc.com just arrived. Ordered on March 25, arrived on April 5. Very well packaged. Everything still sealed. No box dings or other issues.

I'm surprised that Chan Ho Park made the roster of a favorite this year. Maybe not for long.

I don't think CC's slow starts have much to do with weather (even Cleveland weather), like weather might affect some Latin players. At least early in his career, it was more lack of fitness/extra weight. That may be less of a large problem now (he did hire a cook/dietician his last few years on the North Coast). Looks alright through 5.

Have no idea who this is, and I don't think I care, but I'm guessing the "D" in the title does not stand for "definitely".

AL Central is lousy. Kind of fun when those small market teams outclassed the East a few years ago (...perhaps only in my parallel universe). Indians seriously looking at 100 losses. Columnist (Terry Pluto) asserts they will score a ton of runs with Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner healthy (let's see how long that lasts), budding allstars Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera, and young phenom Michael Brantley. Matt LaPorta (main element of CC trade) is hurt, and for some stupid reason Russell Branyan is back in the fold (makes zero sense). Rotation of Jake Westbrook (back from serious surgery), Fausto Carmona (they think he's relearned how to throw strikes, I'm not yet convinced), Justin Masterson (not convinced he's a ML starter), Mitch Talbot (?), and David Huff (?). Kerry Wood is hurt now, maybe Chris Perez (not Rafael) gets a few shots at saves early in the season (if any such opportunities arise). Chance to see some kids develop, and how Manny Acta performs. Probably no need to hang on every individual boxscore. Spring records mean absolutely nothing. Back in the dark ages of my youth, Tribe often had a good spring record. If anything, suggested they were trying too hard to win some games instead of evaluate (a lack of) talent. At what time does this hot stove get shut down? Looks like it will be 75-80F in Northern Virginia this weekend. Good luck to everyone's teams. Hope injuries and bad umping don't play too much of a role this season. [And for folks in Cleveland, now back to your previously scheduled basketball season.]

I am.

I placed an order with Grooves Inc. for all four boxes on Thursday, March 25. Was immediately contacted by my credit card provider doublechecking whether I placed such an order. Received two emails from Grooves yesterday (March 29) indicating that all four items were "ready for dispatch today and will be sent to you tomorrow and should reach you within the next days". Of course, I won't expect them for awhile given its free shipping from Switzerland. I'm a bit surprised that they didn't wait to see if they could sell the items to a closer customer. Hopefully the items will arrive without significant delay or damage. So far so good.

...Is this a "blow-off" sale rather than a "blowout" sale???

That must have been a great show! (The music, not the kiss. Get a room!) Do tapes exist? ...of the music.

Delonte West is key. He is their best perimeter defender, and after LeBron is next best at creating his own shot. When he is out there, Mo can focus more on being a scorer. That DW dunk on Josh Smith was sick--worth the taunting technical that he then received (and ATL missed). LeBron had his worst scoring night of the year--6 of 20 for 14 pts--yet still flirted with a triple double and shut Joe Johnson down (12 pts in first quarter, only 2 or 3 rest of the way). Happy with the team win, but hoping for better performance tomorrow night at the Q. [On NBA TV, Shaq graded the Cavs game as a "C+"].

I purchased the Jazz Crusaders box as a gift for a brother. Glad it was back in stock for the holidays. He got #2400. My other brother got the new Kraftwerk box (a nice package) which arrived from CD Universe just in time...

Can't let that Christmas day feature game go without a comment or two. As a Cavs fan fearful of somewhat ruining a family holiday feast (French onion soup, beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, apple crisp type dessert...mmm), I opted not to watch the first half. After dinner, we gathered around to watch most of the fourth quarter. Wow. Cavs are on a bit of a roll right now. Coach Brown is doing a better job handling Shaq and Ilgauskas minutes in the middle. Delonte West is a good state right now. Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker are contributing nicely. Mo Williams is playing tremendously. LeBron continues to be LeBron. They've won 9 of their last 10, including at Phoenix (first and last visitor to PHX to do that--Steve Nash seriously outplayed by Mo), at a tough Sacramento team (Tyreke Evans will win ROY, Celtics lost there last night without facing TE), and at the Lakers. Tonight and Thursday will be a good test: ATL away and home. Against the Lakers, it was nice to see the additions peforming well. Shaq contributing to the effort inside on Gasol/Bynum, Moon and Parker chasing Kobe. Cavs got totally abused inside last year. It was only one game, but Gasol/Bynum/Odom combined for 21 pts and 17 rebounds while Shaq/Varejao/Ilgauskas went for 22 and 25. Kobe went for 35, but needed 32 shots to get there. Meanwhile, Ron Artest didn't have much success (as he has had in the past) slowing down LeBron. Would the Lakers be better with Ariza instead of Artest? I don't watch enough Laker games to have much of an informed opinion, but based on a few LAL and HOU games, I'd go with TA. If/when the Lakers win again we'll (understandably) hear more about how great they are. But on one day, perhaps the biggest regular season date of the year, they were not good. While we fully expect the ingame whining about the officating, why does Zenmaster Phil take a delay of game technical for not inserting a sub for the tossed Lamar Odom? Just put a scrub in and move on. Show an ounce of class. DFish and Kobe each cheapshotting Mo Williams, real classy fellas. Laker fans throwing foam hands and water bottles on the court, real classy. Cavs played one of their best games of the year, dominating throughout. Lakers appeared not to be giving much respect from the start (just another inferior outfit from the Eastern Conference playing the defending champs???), and felt they were the victims of lousy officiating. Lakers couldn't/wouldn't/didn't adjust to how the Cavs played or how the refs called it and had a bad game. But then they couldn't stop crying about it--the head coach, their best player on the planet, the big game veteran guard, etc. etc.

Currently marked down at Daedulus Books from $125 to $29.98. Rolling Stone Another magazine collection for same price

Above ground Metro was not available Sunday due to snow/ice on rails, but all stations are open on Monday. Federal employees in the DC area told to stay home on Monday. One reason we purchased a home in NoVA rather than DC was a guy named Marion Barry and fears we had about how winter weather would be handled.

Perhaps outside the parameters, pianist Don Bennett. Maybe something off of Sleepig Giant (Southport) [reissued as Chicago Calling (Candid)] like "Dance of the Night Child"?

only 5.5 hours to move many titles--well done.

Ahh Felix Fermin. Tribe traded Fermin, Reggie Jefferson and cash to the Mariners for this light hitting shortstop named Omar Vizquel. Years later Tribe traded ESPN commentator Eduardo Perez to the Mariners for this light hitting shortstop named Asdrubal Cabrera. And Ben Broussard for Shin-Soo Choo. Jury still out on Franklin Gutierrez for light hitting infielder Luis Valbuena (and reliever Joe Smith).