Dan Gould

Almost forgot the best part of waiting til Spring Training starts: World Series Winter on NESN !!! The New England Sports Network has broadcast every Red Sox World Series Game from 1975 on, starting last month. Granted, there are some painful memories from '75 and '86 but also some great games and great wins that haven't been seen in a long, long time. And from now on, its nothin' but GRAVY! Tonite, Tuesday and Wednesday are Games 5-7 of the ALCS, and the week of the 21st, its the four World Series games! I plan to make a special trip to the safe deposit box with each VHS tape.

Isn't this because its being sold through Amazon, so they're using their system to charge it in advance? I do agree that not keeping track of inventory is pretty lame ... guess I'm lucky that everything I've ordered has been available!

The fact that cards get charged makes me wonder-what's the deal for Amazon Marketplace sellers? Do they just pay a fee to Amazon or does Amazon get a cut of the credit card? Cause, if that's what happens, Amazon is getting a buck or two on those card charges when the customer has to wait and then make an effort to make sure they get the credit back.

Sounds like Dova should give them another chance.

Should indeed be a great year. I expect: The Yanks will regret not going after Beltran. Pavano, Wright & Brown will be critical factors for the Yanks. The inability to get rid of Brown is not a good sign. Is there any reason to expect him to even equal the 10-6 record of last year? And can Pavano be successful against the tougher lineups of the AL? One reason I am glad that we got Clement is, he's had a strong record in interleague play, and he gets strikeouts. Pavano doesn't miss a lot of bats, and against the AL that can be dangerous. And with Wright & Brown with serious injury risks, plus Unit at 41 and with no cartilage left in his knees and Mussina coming off a season with time spent on the DL, the Yanks have a glaring need for a sixth or seventh starter, but there's no one to fill that role - the well is dry at Triple A, I believe. The Sox have some risky starters, too, with Wells and Wade Miller and possibly Schilling ... but Miller right now is the number six starter, and they have John Hallama in the bullpen, who's done a fair bit of starting in his career. So they have six guys for five spots plus a lefty spot starter in the pen. So long as they don't lose more than two starters at once, they're pretty well covered.

I've had nothing but excellent service from this Seller. If I am looking for something through Amazon Marketplace and I see that Casa has it, I am more likely to go with them. Part of that is the fact that they ship from Florida so it gets here sooner, usually, but seriously, I have never had such a disappointing experience.

For once, GoM and I agree! But one last note about the Super Bowl just past: This is the first time since '79-'80 that a city has won consecutive championships in different sports in back to back years. Let me explain: Steelers won the '79 Super Bowl. Pirates won the '79 World Series. Steelers won the '80 Super Bowl. So, with the Sox and Patriots now duplicating that feat, the Red Sox have an opportunity to make history if they can keep the streak going by defending their championship. And with Varitek back, Renteria at shortstop, and Wade Miller and Matt Clement joining the rotation (and benefiting from Tek and Schilling) I think we've got a pretty good shot. Can't wait for opening day (night): ESPN will broadcast the Sunday night game as the World Champion Red Sox return to Yankee Stadium for the first time since the amazing sweep! And with Randy Johnson on the mound for the Yanks, I don't think it really matters if Schilling is ready for Opening Day or not, because it will probably be just as exciting/intense to have David Wells on the mound wearing a Red Sox uniform in Yankee Stadium. The boos will be deafening! But not as deafening as the chants of "YEAR TWO-THOU-SAND" that will reverberate through Fenway for the home opener (and ring presentation!) the following weekend!!!

I skipped this thread when it started - saw no reason to expect that Selects for $11 could be legit - but its an interesting thread now that I've read it. As far as paying for printing, etc., who says, assuming that they will ship and they are pirates, that there will be any packaging at all? Maybe you just get three regular jewel boxes, with xeroxes of the inserts? Definitely falls under, "if its too good to be true .."

I'll second the kudos for Harold Mabern. Few years back, we caught the George Coleman Octet at Smoke, and with heavyweights including the leader, Rotondi and Gary Smulyan, old Harold also stole that show. We weren't quite as close to the piano but we could still tell he was pounding the hell out of it!

I've never understood why anyone has a homepage that isn't their email service. Don't y'all check email first thing?

Not much help here, although I don't think we "go through the motions" on Valentine's, its really an occasion for a gift or two, and either dinner out or I'll cook something different, like a wok recipe. I've never done the candy/flowers bit; this year she's getting a cabaret CD she'd asked for before Christmas, and I just picked up a DVD I think she'll enjoy, the first season of Mork and Mindy. And I know I'm getting a batch of CDs from Stateside, including those last two Dexters at Montmartre sets!

Yeah, I think there's a Stitt with Lockjaw and Sweets backed by Eddie Higgins. The club was Bubba's, and Eddie led the house trio for a time.

I have a Who's Who label of the Johnny Griffin Quartet, Take My Hand, and Hamp is nowhere to be seen.

When I lived in Connecticut in the early 90s, I tended to go to the Blue Note more often for Ray Brown and Gene Harris or Ralph Moore. But I did get to the Vanguard twice to see Eastern Rebellion (Cedar Walton, Moore, David Williams and Smilin' Billy). Only one of those times was I able to see Billy smile. Damn pillar!

I didn't know the Leo Wright had been licensed. I kind of think of it as a pair with Gloria Coleman's Soul Sisters, only its KB instead of Grant, and I think the drummer is different, too ... but its another rare recording date for Ms. Coleman. That is, if I'm remembering this correctly ...

I can't imagine they're not aware of them and will put them out in due time ...

And I nailed 4!

Definitely suprised to hear this, I thought he had died long ago, too. Used by the Nazis, it seems he was far better than the way he was presented in his heyday. I knew he wasn't a Nazi but I didn't know he had stood up to them on things like firing his manager just because he was a Jew. The second Louis fight was one of the most brutal heavyweight fights of all-time, I think-but its nice to know that he and Joe became friends and that he helped him out in his later years. RIP.

They're truly going for a staggering new low: ten and 1/2 hours of pregame coverage before kick-off. What a complete waste of time. So, how much pre-game do you watch? Me, I'm turning on the set as close to kick-off as possible. Can't stand those talking heads, let alone ten and a half hours of it!

I can't believe no one's mentioned "Devil's Advocate' in the pantheon of horrible Keanu performances. Ya just gotta love the climactic scene with Reeves catatonic and Pacino chewing the scenery so badly you expect the creepy carvings to have bite marks ...

I was going to post my congratulations but I saw how many had already done so, and I figured, what does one more do, since they all say essentially the same thing. So I'm taking a moment to send positive vibes and then going back to what I was doing. Oh what the hell: Congratulations, John and Family!

I swear I saw it being used as a back scratcher on an episode of "Girls Behaving Badly." (Pretty funny prank - get someone to scratch girl's back; girl proceeds to make orgasmic noises.)

OK, OK, I finally figured out why this name sounded so familiar. Good, now I get to keep my membership in the "I understand references to Peter North" Club.

More Jackie Mac: Swing, Swang, Swingin' Capuchin Swin Nature Boy Consequences Marion McPartland: At the London House Plays the Benny Carter Songbook (a keeper!) Piano Jazz with Jay McShann Charles McPherson: Manhattan Nocturne Bebop Revisited McPherson's Mood The Quintet/Live! (the live set on Cellar Live) Come Play With Me Jay McShann: Hootie! Some blues My Baby with the Black Dress On Goin to Kansas City Paris All-Star Blues Hootie's Jumpin Blues Still Jumpin the Blues Lou Mecca: Quartet Mulgrew Miller: Getting to Know You Work! Trio Transition Time and Again From Day to Day Hand in Hand Charles Mingus: East Coasting New Tijuana Moods Billy Mitchell: De Lawd's blues A Little Juicy The Colossus of Detroit This is Billy Mitchell Blue Mitchell: Soul Village Last Dance Big 6 A Sure Thing The Cup Bearers Live (this is definitely a rare one, a mid-70s concert, no funk, its straightahead, on the that's Jazz label) Collision in Black Hankie's up next!

Actually the bidding started at .99 but as I suspected there was no competition so including shipping, I'm only out $2.99. I'll let you all know, but I'm hoping it will be easily the best $3 CD I ever picked up.