Patrick

So don't watch it. ...Maybe there's some Nascar on the Deuce tonight. Cavs/Pistons, while definitely not one for the ages, is gonna be a lot more watchable than Game 5 out west was. Thus far, the games have been exciting and close, if marred by some inconsistent officiating (both ways) and some challenged shooting (both teams). Not all-time classics, but definitely not awful or unwatchable. Maybe some small part of the outcomes in the East has to do with playing halfcourt (wish LeBron and co would run a bit more) and playing defense.

Jerry Reinsdorf used to do this with the White Sox and Chicago. Kept threatening to move to Tampa Bay, and got "New Comiskey" built for the club. Sad thing is MLB has since expanded into TB, but can't get any fans to show up (so the D-Rays are playing at places like DisneyWorld). ...Just dust off the strategy and insert the next best teamless town into your threat to the current metropolis.

Interesting opinions about whether Kobe will actually get traded. I don't think he will, at least not this offseason. Relationship/situation would have to degenerate quite a bit more (see AI), because LAL will not get fair value. [Looking back, I think Philly did well enough in the AI trade.] Among those that say he will definitely get moved is Ric Bucher who was suggesting something like the following with Seattle: sign and trade Rashard Lewis plus the no. 2 pick overall for Kobe (plus maybe throw in some extra contracts). I find this highy implausible, and highway robbery by LAL, but then I'll confess to not being a big KB fan. How well would Kobe play with Ray Allen? Chicago is close to having all the pieces in place for a run, but I think Kobe makes more sense there (what would it take? Ben Gordon, a young bench player, and a pick? more?). Hinrich distributes and shoots from outside, Deng plays inside.

Agreed that every game counts, anything can happen, and losing is not good. Is Dice K better than he pitched? Probably. Over the course of the whole season, are Schilling and Beckett as good as they pitched earlier in the series? Probably not--to believe otherwise is being a tad bit unrealistic/greedy. Were either of those games blowouts? No. So the Tribe was a bit "unlucky" in the Schill and Beck that showed up. Your team took care of business at home against the team with the next best record. Let go of the Dice K start, reflect on the series overall, look at the division standings and SMILE! Life is short, and right now, good. If bad things happen, it will not be instantaneous--there will be plenty of time for hysteria later. Paul Byrd's success this year thus far has been a pleasant surprise. With Lee and Westbrook back and pitching reasonably well, and with the emergence of Carmona, Byrd should be the 5th starter. Byrd was dreadful last year--I was hoping they'd find some club that would take him in a trade. With the help of John Smoltz in the off-season, Byrd has added a split-finger fastball which has improved his success against left-handed batters. He's not Saberhagen, and I expect he will walk a few. But thus far, he has pitched well.

...after all, we all know to make pilgrimages to Salt Lake City to hear jazz.

Is slashing the ancillary division necessarily a bad outcome? Said differently, presumably the Blue Note catalog has some value (however small) to somebody. Wouldn't TF try to maximize their return by selling the unit to somebody rather than throwing it away? They may not get much for it, but at the right price someone should be interested, and presumably the outfit that would pay the most is one that plans to do something productive with it (...like sell re-re-re-re-reissues of Blue Train ).

Yes. You shouldn't be greedy or pissed--life is short and your team is having a great season. So they lost one game to the team with the second best record in the league (and only 3.5 behind beloved Bosox). Tribe couldn't plate some runs in the earlier games. Way too unrealistic (and greedy) to expect to sweep everybody. Show a little grace, and smile that Schilling and Beckett had great starts, and your team is still on a roll. Nothing to worry about in May. And no real "message" was sent with this series--just a good 2 out of 3 for the Red Sox. Now take care of pinstripe business. Byrd gets the win without walking anybody so his wins/walks differential expands to 6 - 3 = 3. Is Dice K's pitch count often this high? Any chance we can switch to completely ignoring the Yankees for awhile, or at least give them the same amount of attention as other last place ballclubs (okay I admit that is a pleasant thought)? Or maybe give the Orioles or Blue Jays the same amount of attention? I know, unlikely.

And ones that are not actors on TNT dramas (for a change).

CNN Headline News actually showed this....so it must be true.

For awhile there, John Hart was such a genius in Cleveland.

It will be interesting to see how well the Cavs do without Larry Hughes. As much of an overpaid underachiever as he is (...why is Michael Redd wearing a Bucks uniform?), he is one of the key reasons why Billups and Hamilton haven't lit it up (but for Hamilton in Game 1). I hope Gibson and Snow are up to the challenge of being pushed around by Chauncey for 48 minutes. Another solid game from rookie second round draft pick Gibson would be nice. Noj, agree with you about the Spurs. I'd be interested in watching someone else, but mainly to get some variety. Boozer and Williams show promise, but it won't happen this year, and who fills the role of Ginobili on that team?

The benefits of bringing together previously isolated pools of liquidity. A recent PBS documentary on coffee included a similar story about growers receiving better price information (via cellphone, or maybe computer) before selling their crop to the first visiting bean buyer.

While most calls were made correctly, I'll confess to smiling during the "Javie sucks" chants. Looked like the Technical button was a little too easy to push, but as others have said, we don't know what was said by the recipients. Sloan must have used some choice vocab to get tossed after just one T. Are Parker/Ginobli/Duncan really that boring? Methodical yes, but boring? Too much of a half-court game?

Schilling was tough Monday night. Cliff Lee struggled through 5. Papelbon did his best Borowski imitation in the 9th--not only was it second and third, no out, but the top of the Tribe order was up to bat. I think Hafner will welcome the arrival of June (he has had a tough month, including 4 K's Monday). Thank you D-Rays. Go Peavy go! Mainstream media ain't feeding me a whole lotta Tribe, unless they're playing Tigers or Bosox. Go Fausto!

Fausto did deliver against Tigers, and the lineup got to Maroth early (4 runs in the first), so a sweep was had in Detroit. Fausto had more trouble keeping the ball down--hopefully not a trend. That ballpark is so large Travis Hafner managed to hit a triple there this weekend (and I see that Jim Thome has hit two there as well). Too bad Wakefield won't be available for Indians BP. In addition to missing Carmona, Bosox also dodge Sabathia. Lee and Sowers have been the weak links so far (Sowers had his first good outing of the season against KC in his last start). Byrd had been solid if not dazzling--still has more wins (5) than walks allowed (3). So given the pitching matchups, realistically Tribe should be unhappy only if they get swept at the Fens. Then return to the Jake and hopefully take care of the Tigers again...

Another close, nerve-wracking, Eastern conference playoff game. Webber started out well (finished with 15) and Prince contributed on the offensive end (13 pts on 6/13 shooting after having gone 1/19 in the first two), but Rip (2/8, 7 pts) and Chauncey (4/14, 13 pts, 3 assists, 5 turnovers) had poor nights. For a moment it looked like Mr Big Shot would do just barely enough to win... again. Flip Murray and McDyess both contributed off the bench (8 pts each). Rasheed was solid. Cavs finally shot well from the field (for the first time in ages), and Coach Brown elected to play rookie Daniel Gibson instead of returning to Larry Hughes (who actually hit his two shots). Gibson was pesky on the defensive end, knocked down a pair of threes, and was the only bench player that scored. I'm not sure I'm a believer in the "small" squad that had LeBron on the court with Gibson, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones all waiting outside to shoot threes (Donyell was brutal), but it seems to help free up lanes for LeBron to get to the rim. Flip Murray took advantage at the other end, but I thought Detroit would capitalize more on this. Gooden was decent (12 pts, 6 rebounds), but too much of a crybaby. LeBron hit a couple of outside shots that had absolutely no business going in, got to the rim much more frequently than in the first two games, and was a rebound and a dish away from a triple-double. Hopefully he will place with similar aggressiveness in Game 4 (and those that follow). Entertaining game between two defensively-minded teams.

Thanks everybody. The Canons I'm considering now both have Image Stabilization, and not-too-ultra zoom (4x). I'm definitely steering away from ultra-compact, at least for a first camera, mainly for the tradeoff mentioned by WL. Nice review site, Christiern.

Tribe definitely having a nicer visit to Motor City than the Cavs. Hopefully Fausto will prevail this evening.

Amen. Especially Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden who have been MIA.

Impressive second half from Jazz. They have a pretty good bench, at least when playing at home.

a couple more years pass, and I'm finally getting around to purchasing a digital camera. Leaning towards a Canon A-series--the 570 IS, or 710 IS. Anyone familiar with these, or the Canon A-series more generally? I'm interested in something between a simple point and shoot and a pro camera, meaning I'll probably end up just pointing and shooting, but think I may at some point want to do more than that. Thoughts on other brands, lines, etc? amazing how the technology progresses in a few short years.

No. No fouls were called in Game 1, so how can that be one? Stop already.

lead down to 3. the pattern continues. Cavs standing around...

So far so good in Cavsland. Once again, is Coach Brown up to the challenge of making halftime adjustments, or dealing with Detroit's? C Webb had a few moments in the first half, but Z is making him look a bit old (while still missing a lot of his own shots). Can either of those guys jump? Big guys on the bench should pay to play against Cleveland--first Dale Davis (not yet collecting social security) and now Maxiell. Nazr can't wait to be next...

Miles' bust will be on the corner?