Dan Gould

With but a snip here and a word change there, couldn't this be said about edc as well?

Couple of observations, Marty: It seems to me that Melky's arm has suffered a noticeable decline in accuracy. He did throw someone out on Wednesday but I can recall a good half a dozen times to date that the catcher had no shot because the throw was offline. So I am not so sure that Melky's arm is helping as much so far. Of course, when the trade they contemplated would have left Damon in CF, anything Melky does is a plus. As for Matsui - I can only assume that Matsui has awful splits against Kazmir, or that Giambi has really good splits. Otherwise I agree it makes no sense whatsoever to rest Matsui and bat Giambi, who truly looks cooked whenever he doesn't face a junkballer. It will be interesting to see what happens when A-Rod comes back. Its a lot of pressure on him to produce, which is something he wasn't doing much of when he got hurt anyway. I could see the boo-birds come out with a vengeance if A-Rod doesn't hit. Interesting too is whether Mussina and Pettitte will continue to produce as they have. I'll admit that Mussina has done much better than I expected, but I don't know that he can sustain it. But the Yanks surely need him to continue, not least if Andy's near 4.5 ERA continues. Anyone notice the recent reporting about the differences in offenses between the NL and the AL? I think that the big difference is that the AL has become the home of excellent young pitching. Aside from the D-Backs, and to a lesser extent, the Cubs and maybe the Dodgers, I don't see great pitching in the NL, the kind that could shut down a top AL lineup. So I don't think that this is a signifier that the NL might win it all this year. And I like the fact that its the Sox offense that ranks with the best NL teams, well ahead of most AL teams. That tells me that if they just manage to pitch a little, all should be OK in the end. And for the Yanks - well, at the 1/4 mark, they only project to score 688 runs. The last time they scored so few, they ended up in last place in 1990. I don't think that's possible, but a lot of guys have to pick it up for them to score 850, let alone the 950 a lot of people expected.

Yeah, but he didn't risk the chant we used to do when Florida State hosted South Carolina Gamecocks: Beat them cocks!

Interesting news about who might replace Clay Buchholz while he waits for his fingernail to grow back - Colon made his second rehab start today, six innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 65 pitches, topped out at 95 mph. With the day off, Colon is actually on target to start the next time Buchholz turn comes up - could they be thinking about letting Bartolo make his final rehab start in the majors? Normally subsequent rehab starts call for an increase of 30 pitches in the pitch count. That would put him in position to throw 95 pitches on Tuesday, but normally teams have rehabbing pitchers reach 100 pitches before they return to the majors. Its not like the Sox to take such a step, but its a possibility because of the way the pitchers have lined up. The advantage would be an extra look at Colon before Clay is ready to return. I really do have high hopes though that Colon can be a two or three type who just happens to be in the back of the rotation. And to tie it all together: I'll take the Sox with Colon as the number five over the Yanks with Kennedy or Igawa.

Must be the magic of You Tube, or your eyes. I'm not saying she looks bad, but she ain't anywhere close to looking 45. Something like that. Put it this way - she doesn't look a lot different from when I was watching her five days a week, and that was 15 years ago.

Well, even if it hurts the Sox, I had to root for the Rays today, if only so that the Yankees would know that neither Kennedy nor Igawa make much of a number five starter - and so far, its gone exactly according to plan. Third pitch deposited into the right field bleachers by the same dude who ruined Buchholz gem. Another run across in the third, and after two were out in the fourth, a double ripped to right followed by a tape measure shot to left. So what do the Yanks do? They are really in a quandary because they sent Kennedy down with the intention to make him pitch his way back to New York. That takes more than the one strong outing he had, but Igawa absolutely sucked in his debut, and they knew they didn't want him to pitch against the Mets. So now what do the Yanks do? If they send Kennedy back down, they are admitting he wasn't ready to return, but then they are stuck with Igawa or some other AAA pitcher. Actually, I think the smart decision is to give one of the other guys a shot, and send Kennedy down with the commitment that barring an injury to one of the other starters, he is going to pitch at SWB until he fully gets his act together. But its really a bad situation - send him down and play with his head some more, or keep him up and allow the rest of the A.L. to tee off on his mediocre pitches, playing with his head in a different way. Better to just admit the mistake and try to get him right so that when he does return, he may stick.

I think there are other Curtis Amy PJs that fit into the "Soul Jazz" bag better than Katanga does. Unless I'm thinking of a different one, that always struck me as a little more modernist, a bit less "soul".

I agree, and think that's the problem. Maybe they added nothing, maybe they added a little, or maybe they added alot. Who can say? That's why it's still an issue, and puts a cloud over the Pat's success, to some undeterminable degree (at least to non Pats fans). That's why the rules (whatever they are) have to be clear and enforced, and teams have to respect them. Is Belichick a great coach? Without doubt. Are the Pats a great team? Yep. Do I think Belichick knew the rules and chose to bend them anyway? Yes. I also agree with Shawn in that I'm tired of all this, and think allowing the defensive players to communicate through headsets like the offensive ones will help resolve this for the future. I think Erik sums it up rather well and I just have to say that I find Spector's bloviating to be really ridiculous. Does anyone doubt that he is motivated in equal parts by trying to excuse the Eagles SB failure while at the same time carrying Comcast's water in their battle with the NFL Network? Bottom line is that this is an internal issue for a private organization to handle. If a "Mitchell Report" is necessary, than go all the way and investigate every single team. Fact is that while there is a tenuous connection between baseball players using PEDs and the health and well-being of young athletes, there can be no legitimate reason why Congress needs to get involved in the matter. That is, unless Spector is concerned about the integrity and accuracy of Vegas betting lines on NFL games.

Looks like an interesting episode Friday night, about two separate crashes of 737s. And there's no description but I have no clue what "Mistaken Identity" could be about - and why the heck do they have an episode of "Air Emergency" with this description: ****************** It was definitely an interesting story last night - when they mentioned the moonless night, I had an immediate suspicion that a flight illusion, i.e., disorientation and a loss of situation awareness would play a role in the accident. So ironic that if the mechanical failure had happened in daylight, it almost certainly would have been nothing worse than an emergency return to the airport.

Either Sue Simmons has amazing genes or a great plastic surgeon to be 64 and look like she's around 45. As for previous "vulgar" outbursts on the NYC airwaves, wasn't there a time in the 80s when Tom Snyder was doing the news and didn't realize he was on camera when someone off-camera said or did something and he flipped him the bird? I have a strong memory of that happening but was surprised it didn't merit a mention in the reporting of Simmons' mistake.

About to give a first listen to Jimmy's Imperial release Every Night, Every Day - its got a few tunes I've got elsewhere but about 60% of it is new.

Because OP was a worldwide star for 50 years while the Three Sounds 'just' helped keep Blue Note afloat?

Its too bad the M-F assholes fucked the game away again, because otherwise we'd be talking about Manny's amazing catch, high-five of a fan and throw to complete a double play.

If your like this in May after your team has WON TWO out of the last four WORLD SERIES TITLES, I can't imagine what you were like after game 7 of the ALCS in 03. Dan is downright calm, compared to the folks on this Red Sox forum...check it out, especially during a game the sox are losing....language that would make a sailor blush! http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?showforum=108 PS, couldn't find this site for a long time, cuz I was thinking it was Sonsofsamhorn.com And I heartily endorse this comment from today's game thread (emphasis mine):

MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST another three run lead PISSED away. I FUCKING KNEW that three GIDP in the first four innings would fucking kill us in the end. And with a GRAND FUCKING SLAM Okajima has now allowed something like 90 FUCKING % of inherited runners to score. Kinda puts his sub 1.00 ERA into a different light, doesn't it?

I think Noj appreciates that last line.

With Moss probably three weeks from a return and Kielty in reserve, we don't need to make a move for help. The problem is we were well-situated for OF back-ups until the injuries happened to the regulars right after the two best guys at Pawtucket went down. To top that off, I doubt that Ellsbury is 100% yet after getting nailed with a pitch on the side of his knee in Minnesota, but he'll have no choice but to play TFN.

Oh what the hell: I was bored.

Well said, Paul.

I think the author misses the mark in myriad ways. Number one is the label "Laddie" magazines really are not aimed at 15 year olds. I believe "lads" in the GB vernacular is more the 18-25 demographic. "Laddie" magazines are not for sexually immature teens, they are for sexually active/emotionally immature young men. There would be far fewer "lifestyle" articles and far more X-Box reviews if it were otherwise. As for this presumed "sameness" - first of all, are we talking about the women in the magazines or this specific "top 100" list? Because the women in the magazines are mix of young would-be starlets trying to get a little buzz going and a bunch of nobodies who think they should be models or otherwise fill out lingerie rather nicely. The "top 100" are all current or recent starlets from tv, movies or music, and aside from the tendency toward a Playboy-inspired bustline, there's a heckuva lot of variety in that group.

I'm far from the most knowledgeable about Sinatra but I don't think its true that he changed in significant ways at all, beyond "maturing" into adult music and concerns. Sinatra as "jazz singer" is predicated on the "jazz" elements in his performance and in the accompaniment. Its also predicated on the lingering influence of jazz on singers throughout the generation or so we are talking about. It had nothing to do with where he appeared.

Don't you hate wondering which team it is you've got? And now the Rays get a walk-off single off Rivera to take over first place (gee, do you think Girardi was desperate to win this game, sending out his closer for a second inning in a tie situation on the road? Even if Rivera had gotten them out in the 11th, they would have needed someone not named Chamberlain, Farnsworth or Rivera to close) I should be fucking ecstatic the Yankees look so bad but Jesus Christ, I've got more important things to worry about. Five out of seven losses. Horrific "clutch" hitting. A stopper who couldn't complete six innings. A young stud whose ERA is now 5.5. And they face Daniel Cabrera tomorrow to avert a sweep, and Cabrera is coming off a complete game three hitter, and he's also forgotten how to walk people (three BBs in the last two starts). There's no one at AAA to replace Drew, if that turns out to be necessary, because Moss just had an appendectomy and Kielty has been injured too. And the fucking Rays can't lose. Unless that changes, the Rays are going to have the same 3 + game lead by this time next week that we had before we went to Minnesota.

I saw that in your original post but I don't have a DVR and I'm not about to stay up that late.

Well the Rays fucking deserve to be in first place considering that the fucking assholes once again fuck away a 3-0 lead, load the bases with no out and a two run deficit in the seventh and can't even score a fucking run, and earlier Drew has come out of the game with a sprained wrist and Youkilis was forced into right field when Crisp got sick to his stomach. Jesus Fucking Christ.

I for one am surprised that folding chairs can go through a self-serve register, since they usually rely on a measure of weight to confirm that people aren't stealing things. I think Aggie has it right though - bring the items that you did take with you plus whatever info you have on the sale and you should be able to show them that the difference = two cheap chairs. It might work. Ideally a company would do the right thing but in the grand scheme of things for a corporation that size, your withdrawal of business means precisely nothing. So really its up to you to decide whether its worth not shopping there. Personally, I'd be berating myself for not taking the chairs and then also not managing to retain the receipt. When they tell me "without a receipt we can't do anything" I would say "well I was the idiot in the first place". After all, you said its not that important.