papsrus

BTW, I read in the news recently where some study recommended discontinuing the PSA test (possibly for men of a certain age group) because it caused unnecessary stress (seriously) and I think possibly led to unnecessary treatments in some cases. I didn't pay that close attention to it, because it sounded like pure BS to me, but I'm going to guess the insurance industry had something to do with the study. And, no need for further details on the bladder exam. I'm sure it's all done in a very careful manner ... heh-hem. Glad you're doing well. And don't forget to laugh!

Garza threw a gem tonight. Nine K's, two-hitter (probably should have been a one-hitter as the first "hit" hit outfielder Justin Ruggiano squarely in the glove. He should have caught it, but he did dive, or flop forward, or something, so ...) Regardless, great performance by Garza. ... And the Yankees are now 10.5 games out in the East and I think it's safe to pretty much write 'em off at this point. Angels coming to town next week. Got some time off so I'm definitely going up to St. Pete to catch one of those.

Ah ... I've always wondered about this procedure. Not to get too specific or anything, but are there any pain killers involved? Can you ask for gas or anything? Anything at all????

BTW, I'm convinced that one of the keys to everlasting matrimonial happiness is the once-a-week date. I've had this confirmed by other longstanding married fellas. Take it under advisement.

I don't know you from the BNBB days, but nonetheless, hearty congratulations. Always happy to hear of two people heading in the right direction together.

Yeah, it makes sense from that perspective. I guess I'm just bemoaning how the Rays have gotten kicked in the nads here with some key injuries. But I guess everyone goes through that at some point. Never a good time to lose a Longoria ... or your closer (even though he's a panic attack every time he throws the ball).

Just placed an order for: Anderson / Drake / Jordan / Parker -- "Two Days in April"

The Rays have come too far to miss the playoffs! - and to do that and let the Yanks get in would require that they play one game under .500 while the Yanks play .700+ the rest of the way. Of course I wouldn't mind if the Rays struggle and the Sox can catch them, then they'd at least have home field for the first round while the Rays can deal with the Halos. At least the Rays should do OK this weekend against the Rangers, if they pitch a little and hit a little (easier to do the latter) (sorry Al). But then they get the Angels, so hopefully we'll close the gap by this time next week. And then there's Sept. 8-10 @ Boston, Sept. 12-14 @ NY and Sept. 15-17 at home vs the BoSox. It's going to be a wild finish!

OK. But if you set it up so that Cleveland couldn't pull him back once they put him on the waiver wire, and once Boston claimed Byrd they would have to either sign him to a new deal, or (failing that) pick up his remaining contract, then teams would (A) only put players on the waiver wire that they really wanted to waive, and (B) acquiring teams would only move to pick up players they really wanted acquire or were willing to sign, and not simply grab players they don't really want in order to block rivals from acquiring them. The way things are now, the waiver wire system, as I understand it (or maybe, misunderstand it) is in some respects set up to encourage the non-movement of players, except for the purpose of dumping a salary. I would think the union might be opposed to that, but I guess it benefits the players somehow.

... and now Percival is out with a sprained knee (from running to first base). I was always a little nervous with him in there anyways, and was hoping that Balfour might be able to close, but then he came in and blew the save yesterday! Yikes. But injuries are starting to take a real toll. Crawford unlikely to return in anything more than pinch-running duty. Who knows if Longoria can recover from a broken hand and get his swing back in time. Missed the Peavy-Sheets match-up in San Diego last night. Bummer.

Just saw a highlight of some wrestler who got his bronze medal on the ceremony stand, hoped down, laid the medal on the ground and walked off the stage in protest of the scoring of his event, or some crap. ... Not only disrespectful of the Olympics, but how about the silver medal winner? He must feel really great about being humiliated by this chump. Phelps is pretty damn awesome to watch. It's hard to fathom that a human can move through water that fast.

This, I'd like to listen to!

Thank you B. Goren. I looked around a bit and missed that thread. Maybe an administrator can merge the two? As to my request for input, from the first responses here, it sounds like the order of preference might be Bix, Young, Diz, with Bix getting a slight nod over Young due to the likelihood that it will go OOP sooner. I notice the Lester Young is on back order.

Given certain physiological responses -- including the ability to sustain an erection uninterrupted while being transported to the hospital attached (somehow) to a park bench -- I'm going to take a wild guess and venture that this here tale is a ... tall one. ... unless, of course, some sort of pharmaceutical products were involved, in which case he may have had one of those four-hour deals that you're supposed to alert your doctor about (not bloody likely!) in the event that they occur ...

I'd like to know what Mosaic folks are considering next. But first, I need some advice. I have my eye on these three items for my next purchase. I need to select one of the three. 1. Lester Young, County Basie Sessions 1936 - 1940 2. Bix Beiderbecke Complete OKeh 3. Dizzy Gillespie Verve-Philips Small Group Sessions I'm leaning toward the Gillespie small groups right now, but if anyone has any or all of these, I'd appreciate some input. Thanks. ------------ Now, your next Mosaic purchase is ? .......

Right on! Happy Birthday.

Good rule of thumb.

If you're an ESPN insider, Steve Phillips does a great job explaining it here. I'm not an insider, or I'd just post it. He explained it on BBTN, too. Thanks. I'm not an insider, but Dan's explanation and the Wiki entry pretty much cleared things up. I guess the source of my puzzlement haf more to do with the "why" than the details of the "how."

$89.99 at Elusive Disc. Kind of Expensive

I've recently seen a link to a straightforward description of the process, but basically, teams put players on revocable waivers. So the player is offered to each team in the same league, from worst to best record, then the process is repeated in the other league (pretty sure they do it by leagues, not overall record). So with one of the best records, the Rays are in a tougher spot than say the Yanks or Red Sox. But once someone is claimed, the two teams have 48 hours to negotiate a deal. If they don't, the player stays with his original team and he can't be put through waivers again for the rest of the season. So the waivers aren't irrevocable because the team that has his rights can pull him back - if they really wanted to trade him to a particular team and someone makes a blocking maneuver, they can simply pull him back and not even bother with the 48 hour negotiating window. The only way the Sox would end up with a bunch of players they don't really want is if their teams chose to simply let them have the players they put a claim on. That's a straight salary dump and for a long time rarely happened. Then the Reds took their "nasty boy" relievers (Charlton?), put them on waivers, and when a claim was made, didn't pull them back, leaving the team that didn't really want him stuck with his remaining salary. Supposedly when Canseco spent the last couple of months of the 2000 season with the Yankees, that was a deal where the Yanks put in a claim to block Canseco and ended up stuck with him. So that's the risk that you run, but its still pretty rare. Most teams put guys on waivers but will pull them back if someone claims them. Thanks Dan. It would be nice if this "blocking" tactic was somehow eliminated -- or at least mitigated. For instance, you could allow a team to block once, then allow the other team to put their player back on waivers a second time for a limited time. Something like that. But then again, maybe the league wants this. ... Or maybe the union would be opposed. Anyways, looks like the Rays won't be able to pick up anyone. Their own fault for not making a move before the deadline, I suppose.

Dan -- or anyone: WFT is the deal with the wavier wire? I know basically that every team ahead of you in the standings has a shot to block you from picking up a player, and I know that virtually every team throws a list of players out there for a variety of reasons. But how do the BoSox, for instance, block the Rays from picking up ANY AND ALL players floating around out there that they might be interested in? Wouldn't the Sox end up with a half dozen players they don't really want? ... not quite getting it ...

Very good to see you back MG. And a fascinating mystery, too. Sounds like Sherlock Holmes is on the case.

I didn't watch the opening ceremonies but ... apparently there was a little bit of illusion going on: Cute kid singing some cute song was lip-syncing because the real singer was deemed too ... unattractive ... at the last minute. A political decision from on high, apparently. Something about crooked teeth (those darn 8-year-olds). And, the super-nifty fireworks display? ... what people saw on TV was an animated re-creation. Word has it the Chinese censors are setting world records scrubbing the internet of complaints from their countrymen. Vat a country!

I'd be careful about this. Again, I have no particular expertise in these things, but I do know that when introducing a new dog at a dog park, for example, it is best NOT to restrain them on a leash. They will feel vulnerable and fear kicks in rapidly. It's best to let them mingle and work out the social order of things themselves. (closely monitored, of course). But, cats are a little different. But my experience with cats and leashes is that they freeze up, thinking that a boa constrictor has got them. But it may work best for you. I'd be interested to know the result.